


Adrienette April 2020

by miraculouslycool



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrienette April 2020, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Oblivious Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Oblivious Marinette Dupain-Cheng, idiots to lovers, oblivious idiots in love, the kwamis are done
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-01
Updated: 2020-04-30
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:47:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 30
Words: 76,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23429458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miraculouslycool/pseuds/miraculouslycool
Summary: Adrienette April is here! Check out the 30 drabbles of these idiots in love!
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 559
Kudos: 583
Collections: Adrinette April 2020





	1. Day 1: Pranks

**Author's Note:**

> Adrien and Marinette break Alya and Nino's DDR streak. Chaos ensues.

Adrien and Marinette watched as Alya and Nino did an effortless sidestep with the computer. 

Marinette knew that dance was a part of their personal flair. DDR didn't include the splits or abresques as one of its moves. Both her and Adrien knew that Nino and Alya were unbeatable when it came to Dance Dance Revolution. They were far too much in sync and in tune with the music. 

"I know what you are thinking." Adrien said to her over the music, crossing his legs. 

"What-what am I thinking?" Marinette stuttered. 

"You're worried if the plan will work."

"Oh, please. I'm not worried about that." Marinette scoffed. "These two are amazing, but we can't let them beat us black and blue at DDR."

He snorted. "Yeah about that. I'm still sorry I stepped on your foot. I didn't hurt you too badly, did I?" He said, glancing at her leg.

Marinette smiled softly at him. "Don't worry about it. I'm fine." 

"I am wearing sneakers." He said seriously. "You are wearing flats. I must have hurt your bare foot." 

"Adrien, really. It was an accident. I walked it off and I'm fine now." She nudged his shoulder. 

He squeezed her hand. "Thanks Marinette." He gave a crooked smile which just so happened to be the one that made Marinette melt into a puddle of feels. 

He then glanced at the timer in the computer. "The song is almost over." He noted. "How do we get them away from the screen?" 

"Relax. I know Alya. She puts all her energy into everything she does, and I had already strategically offered to bring over some chilled lemonade which is sitting in the kitchen waiting to be drunk." 

"Wow. And Nino will give anything to have anything to drink." Adrien remarked. 

"You got the codes from Max, didn't you?" She whispered. 

That was the song ended, and Adrien saw through the corner of his eye that Alya finished off effortlessly with a power pose and Nino did a beautiful abresque that could rival a prima ballerina.

"What are you two whispering about?" Alya cooed. 

That was when Adrien realised how close he was sitting to Marinette. Their shoulders were touching and his face was a few inches away from hers. 

She whipped her head back to Alya and scooted away. "Oh, um, Adrien was just apologizing for my foot." 

"I was?" He was confused. "Uh, I mean, yeah, yeah I was." He amended. 

"You okay, girl?" Alya asked. 

"Yeah, I am." Marinette said exasperatedly when she saw even Adrien's face falling. "What do I have to do convince you both?" 

"Either way," Alya said offhandedly as she dragged Nino away to the kitchen. "You two are good at several things, but we always wipe the floor with you two when it comes to dancing." 

"Don't rub it in." Marinette rolled her eyes good naturedly. She knew Alya was only teasing. 

"Yeah, sorry about that! Just the way things are!" Nino called back with a wink. 

They waited for a beat until they sounded like they were far away. "Now!" Marinette whispered. 

Adrien scrambled over to the game and muted the volume as he added the cheat codes to unlock the customized levels where you get to pick a song and dance of your own choice.

Marinette directed him carefully and Adrien finally combined a rock song with a very mellow set of dance steps. 

"Get back here!" Marinette whisper shouted and Adrien plopped himself on the couch. 

"I don't really have that much experience in pranks, Marinette." He offered her a hand, which she took. "This isn't too mean, right?" 

Marinette laughed as she sat down next to him. "Do you remember April Fools last year, when they manipulated our video game and we lost for the first time ever against them?" 

"Oh yeah." Adrien's eyes flared. 

"Don't you think we should get back at them?" She whispered conspirationally. 

Adrien grinned. This was a side of the usually shy Marinette he never got to see. "I never knew you were so devious, Marinette."

Marinette's cheeks bloomed red but she refused to let it bring her down. "Maybe there's a lot of things you don't know about me after all, Agreste." She retorted, brushing his arm lightly.

"Was that some round or what?" Nino said loudly as they came from the other room. 

"I guess we rendered them speechless, babe." Alya said slyly, looking at Adrien and Marinette's blank faces. 

"Yeah, speechless at how lackluster that was." Marinette taunted. "I've seen you two do so much better."

Adrien wanted to giggle but he remained quiet and let Marinette take the lead.

"Look who's talking!" Alya said, rolling her eyes. "Didn't you two fall on top of each other not half an hour ago?" 

"Well, we're Marinette and Adrien." Adrien supplied, making sure to address Marinette first. "We're terrible dancers. No offence, Marinette." 

"None taken, Adrien."

"You can't have such high expectations of us." Adrien said innocently.

"What are you two trying to even say? We've gone stale or something?" Alya scoffed.

"Staler than the milk in Nino's house sometimes." Adrien singsonged and Marinette had to hold back a burst of laughter. 

"Hey! You take that back!" Nino said indignantly. 

"That is exactly what we are saying Alya." Marinette challenged, sitting up to her fullest height (which wasn't much, Adrien noted but he didn't want to get hit by her) and staring Alya down. "One day WE are going to end up beating you." She grimaced. "Oh well, all good things had their time." 

"Excuse me? Are you saying that you are a better dancer than me? Fat chance, girl. I love you, but fat chance." 

"Give it time and I might as well will be." She said guilelessly. 

"Alright, we're settling this right now." Alya fumed competitively. "What are the stakes?" 

"You and Nino finish ANY level we choose without slipping and I will get you an exclusive interview with Ladybug and Chat Noir." 

"And I'll let Nino have any of the games he wants in my video game collection." 

"You serious?"

Adrien and Alya both flinched visibly. 

"And what if you win?" 

"Then Marinette takes Nino's seat for the entire month." Adrien said quickly before anyone could answer. 

Marinette looked at him with eyes wide. 

"What the-" Nino began. 

"Uh ah, wasn't finished. Marinette takes Nino's seat and you two, sit away from each other as far as possible for the rest of the week. I would say the entire month like I said with Marinette but I'm not too cruel. And we choose the seats." He shrugged. 

Marinette held up her hand to high five him over her rapidly pounding heart. Adrien wanted to sit next to her? 

He returned it enthusiastically.

"I'm staying out of your game of pride."  
Nino stepped back cautiously, sipping his leftover lemonade.

"What's wrong, Nino?" Adrien said with a wicked glint in his eye. "You too chicken?" 

Nino choked on his drink before giving Adrien the dirtiest glare possible. Marinette and Alya looked away from their stare off for a minute to look at the boys having one of their own.

Inside jokes, they supposed. 

"Alright. I accept. Better keep your contacts ready." Alya dragged a suddenly very willing Nino in front of the screen. 

Adrien picked the level he had created and purposefully scrolled away from. 

"Player 1, ready?" The computer droned.

"What's this about chickens?" Marinette whispered. 

"Player 2, ready?" 

"Can't tell you even if I wanted to. Bro code." 

"Dance!!" 

The song started slowly enough, and they were doing a good job of keeping up with the music. 

Marinette frowned. Did Adrien chose the proper song? 

Adrien turned to look at her worrying her lip with her teeth.  
Was this the first time he noticed how pink her lips were? 

"Are you sure about this?" Marinette turned to him and his eyes immediately shot up to hers. 

"Have a little faith, pr-Marinette" he quickly corrected, blanching at how he almost used his nickname for her as Chat.  
Great going. With how distracted he was, he might as well be giving Alya an interview as Chat Noir right away.

As if on cue, the song's beat dropped, but the speed of the steps didn't change. 

Marinette and Adrien gave each other a mutual smirk as Alya fought to keep up with the rapid beat and Nino adamantly stayed true to the computer. 

"Nino! Go faster!" 

"The computer hasn't done that step yet! You are going too fast!" 

"The steps don't match the song at all-" Alya gasped and turned her head back at her two friends who were watching the disaster unfold happily. 

"YOU did this!" Alya accused. 

"Remember Alya, ANY level we choose." Marinette called out between laughs. 

"Pound it?" Adrien asked her without thinking.  
Marinette didn't even flinch as she fist bumped him back.

"I'm finishing this by hook or crook!" Alya declared, but not a minute later, Nino stumbled and ended up in a half-squat with his hands sticking out awkwardly. 

"Nino, get up!" Alya said, but even she slipped and landed on her side. 

"Sorry guys, rules are rules." Marinette ran over to help Alya up. "Be ready to miss each other for a very long week. Oh and happy April Fools!" 

Adrien had already gotten to Nino, but he only had eyes for Marinette who was laughing at Alya's outrage. 

He never realised how musical Marinette's laugh was. 

"Uh, bro. When you're done staring, mind helping me up?" Nino wanted to glare at his buddy but he ended up laughing instead.  
\-----------  
Nino and Alya later got back at them by planting one of the twins' wind-up toy spider in Adrien's bag, knowing full well that both of them were afraid of spiders. 

It started with Adrien screaming, then Marinette screaming, then both of them screaming, and ended with Adrien in Marinette's arms bridal style.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have never played DDR before in my entire life so these cheat codes are purely fictional.


	2. Day 2: #marinettechallenge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien is tired and grumpy, but that isn't going to stop him from making sure his good friend has an amazing nap.

Marinette slumped into her new seat at the front and rubbed her eyes tiredly. 

"Am I dreaming or is Marinette Dupain-Cheng actually early for once?" Alya teased her best friend as she came in behind her.

"Hey, Aly-" she didn't get to finish that as she let out another huge yawn. 

"Girl are you okay?" Alya asked, laying a hand on Marinette's. "Why do you look so tired?" 

"Oh, um." She sat straight up, the question catching her off guard. "The thing is, I didn't get that much sleep last night....?" She twiddled her thumbs. 

Which was the truth. She and Chat Noir had been on patrol and the two of them got carried away with a fun race they had challenged each other to on the spot and it had ended with both of them chasing each other around Paris for hours together. By the time Marinette reached home, it was 4 AM and she had dragged herself out of bed at 8. She could have slept in a little more, but she was far too excited at the prospect of her first day in an amazing month of getting to sit next to Adrien. 

"Oh man. Marinette, were you up late last night designing again?" 

"Yeah, I was." Marinette said, gratefully latching on to the excuse. 

"You could have slept in at least a bit, you know." Alya said, sliding next to her on the bench.

"Yeah....I know. I just..." 

"Couldn't wait to sit next to Adrien." Alya finished. 

"No, no, it's not like that. You know how I am-"

"I know you are taking a step back, Marinette. And I understand why, but....Adrien was the one who suggested that you sit next to him." 

"Yeah, and I was thrilled, and I still am thrilled. It's just that, after growing closer to him- and I know he and Kagami have a thing and all, and she's my friend too...and ugh, this is so confusing! Why can't I just get some sleep?" 

Alya laughed out loud at her best friend's antics. "Well, did Adrien tell you that he is dating Kagami?" 

"How am I supposed to know that? How can I even GET to know that - Adrien is my friend but I can't go and ask him things like this!" 

"Hmm, good point. But Marinette?" Alya said. 

"Hmm?" Marinette said, her eyes already drifting shut. 

"Are you listening to me?" She gave her a little shake. "Alright, once school is done, if you're not getting some sleep, I'll tape your eyes shut myself." 

"Alright, alright, I'm listening." Marinette conceded. 

"Adrien....he is an amazing guy, and sometimes he can be a bit oblivious, but you have to know, you should know, that he cares about you. Deeply." 

"How do you know that?" Marinette scrunched up her nose. 

"You two really are two of a kind." Alya pinched the bridge of her nose. "I can see it. NINO can see it. Everyone can see it. He looks at you differently from the others. He always takes the initiative to talk to you or just be with you. He made a handmade birthday present for you, something he knew you would appreciate. Heck, he said the new year was going to be a lucky one because he met YOU on the first day!"

"So, what are you saying, Alya? I should hold out for some more false hope?" 

"I'm saying, don't hope for anything. But believe in the facts. I don't know if it is as a friend or something more, you mean the world to that boy. Don't let yourself forget that." 

"Thanks, Al. What can I ever do in return for everything you do for me?" 

"You could give me and her seats next to each other?" Nino said casually as he walked into the classroom. "Hey, girls."

"Sorry Nino. You two lost. It may not have been fair and square, but you still lost." Marinette retorted. 

"Eh, it's not like we've done worse." Alya shrugged, sliding out of the bench and kissing Nino on the cheek. "Cheer up, babe. It's only for a week."

"Oh alright." Nino's grumpy face immediately softened when he accepted Alya's affection. Marinette felt a small pang of envy, and immediately shoved it far far away, feeling horrible for even thinking it.

But still. Would she ever find that with someone? 

"Hey, Ivan, my man! Looks like you and I are seat buddies for the week!" Nino waved and Ivan waved back at him. 

"Take care of my bro, dudette." Nino winked at Marinette. 

"Where is he?" Marinette asked. 

"He and I came at the same time. He's talking to Natalie on the phone outside. I think." He said.

"See you later, Als." He went over to his new seat. 

"You'll think about what I said?" Alya smiled knowingly at her. 

"Yeah, if I don't fall asleep on my face." Marinette rolled her eyes. 

"Hi, Alya!" 

That voice. Marinette HATED it. 

The remnant sleep in her system was replaced by a cold chill as she saw Lila Rossi enter the classroom. 

"Hi, Lila. How was your weekend?" Alya asked politely, although Marinette knew without her best friend directly telling her that Alya and Lila weren't particularly close since the past month.

"Oh, it was great! My mom and I got to meet several dignitaries from across the world and I gave the King of Achu's personal advisor some tips on delegating tax payments across the country." 

Marinette grimaced. She badly wanted to call Lila out on her bullshit, but she didn't have the energy or inclination to. 

"Hi, Marinette." She turned to her, pulling on an innocent look. "What are you doing?" 

"Sitting in my seat?" Marinette replied coolly. 

"But...isn't that Nino's seat?" 

Alya jumped to her rescue. "You see, Lila, we had a bet and Nino and I lost. So, he gave Marinette his seat." 

She kept it short and to the point, but still firm. Marinette grinned proudly at her best friend. 

"You're sitting next to Adrien without telling him beforehand?? What will he think?" 

"I think, that Marinette is amazing for accepting when I asked her to sit next to me, don't you think, Lila?" Adrien Agreste said heartily, without missing a beat as he strode into the classroom and slid next to Marinette. 

"Oh. So you, asked her to-" 

"Yes. I did. It was part of a bet that-" 

"Oh she already knows. I told her." Alya said. 

"See? No harm done." Adrien shrugged. 

"I see. My bad." She crooned sweetly as she turned her nose up in the air and sashayed away to her seat in the back. 

Marinette definitely expected this from Lila, but what she did not expect was Chloe Bourgeois walking into the classroom without greeting Adrien or glomping him and insulting Marinette and Alya in one breath. Sabrina tottered after her even more quietly. 

"Wow, what's gotten into her?" Alya said quietly. "Did someone switch souls with her or something?" 

Unbeknownst to Alya, and even to each other, Marinette and Adrien frowned. They knew the exact reason why Chloe was like this, but it's not like they could or even wanted to go about accusing her of what she did when she was Miracle Queen. 

"Don't tempt fate, Alya." Adrien's voice came out darker and deeper than he meant it to be. 

"Alright, class, settle down!" Miss Bustier called, and Alya waved to both of them and left to her new seat next to Alix. 

"Hey, Marinette." Adrien said, his voice melting into concern as soon as he saw her. "Are you okay? You look really tired." 

That was when Marinette looked at Adrien clearly for the first time that day. He looked just as disheveled as she did, with bags around his eyes. He was much better at hiding it than she was, but even he looked like he was going to collapse on his desk any second. 

"Are you okay?" Marinette countered. "You look just as tired as I do." 

"Oh it's nothing. I've had worse." He shrugged it off, putting on a brave face like he always did. 

Marinette would have questioned what exactly was 'worse' in Adrien's book if Miss Bustier hadn't signaled both of them to be quiet.   
\----------  
Adrien was deeply annoyed with everything and anything. 

His day could not have gone worse. 

First, he didn't wake up to his alarm clock. And he was always punctual. He was always early. Natalie had to wake him up and he had to endure her continued notions that his father would not be pleased with him. 

The day before, he had tried asking his father to let him eat lunch with his friends at school, and he had angrily replied with how he would get sick from all of the preservatives and germs in his school cafeteria. 

Adrien had to bite back a retort about how nearly 2000 kids his age plus the collége faculty didn't get sick from the preservatives and germs. 

Then he tried to negotiate, saying that he could always take a packed lunch to school so he wouldn't mess up his diet, and somehow that translated into him not keeping up with his extra curriculars properly and his tutors all being displeased with him and his grades not being up.

It was one A minus. Trust his father to blow up every tiny detail. 

He had finally ended up having to bargain with him, saying that he would use the extra time once he was done eating to make up for time he missed studying. 

He had been less than enthusiastic about it, even more so when Natalie called him once he reached school to say that he had to take fencing an extra day if he was going to waste time by gallavanting with his friends. 

All he wanted was an extra hour with his friends. And even that was cut short. He did have lunch with Alya and Nino, but left quickly because he knew they could sense he was in an irritable mood and also because he didn't want to third wheel them for too long. 

He headed to the school library instead, hoping for some peace and quiet. He wasn't even going to study. What his father knew wouldn't hurt him. 

He stormed over to the nearest empty table, earning a reproving glare from the librarian.   
There weren't many people there, and Adrien was relieved. The last thing he wanted was people finding a chance to hound him now that he was alone. 

He was about to drop his bag on the table when he froze upon seeing a sleeping Marinette laying her head down fitfully. 

Feeling extremely guilty about how loud he was, he quietly took his bag and walked away trying to find a different table. 

He already felt bad about how she almost fell asleep several times in class and as her deskmate, he was obligated to wake her up so she wouldn't get in trouble. 

He even tried quietly whispering to Miss Bustier that she was sick, but Marinette heard it and immediately woke up with her head held high. 

"Adrien?" He heard a groggy voice call out to him. He spun around to see Marinette sitting upright and rubbing her neck. 

"Marinette?" He said, walking over to stand next to her. "I'm so sorry, did I wake you up?" 

"No, I was awake. I'm really tired but for some reason, I can't sleep." 

Adrien's heart panged as he realised how similar both Marinette and Ladybug's situations were. Even she had told him several times about the restless nights of fitful sleep she had. 

That was when he saw she was still touching her neck. 

"You really shouldn't be sleeping on the desk, you could crick your neck." He said, absent mindedly touching her shoulder. 

"Yeah, I know, but really. It's fine. If anyone should get any sleep, it's you." She retorted. "You look just as tired as I am." 

Adrien shrugged. "Eh. It's fine. I'll live. But in all seriousness, I can't let you sleep like this. There are still 45 minutes left until the lunch period ends and if you continue to sleep like this, you could end up with numb and painful muscles." 

Marinette noted how he was still touching her shoulder.  
How lucky was she to have two amazing guys who cared about her so much? Chat had said somewhat the same thing to her last night when she jokingly mentioned sometimes falling asleep on her desk. 

Adrien's face still held the same concern she saw in Chat's eyes last night. 

"Hey, look, there's a couch over there." Adrien pointed out. "It's not much, but it's an improvement." 

"Nooooo, I don't want to get up." 

"Marinette." His voice became sterner, and for some reason, that made her knees go weak again. Wasn't she supposed to be over her crush on him?

"I can't exactly sprawl myself on the couch. This is a public library." 

"You don't have to, you could just lean back." He suggested, offering her his hand. "Now come on." 

"Fine, if you insist." She rolled her eyes, but Adrien noticed that they were shining brightly as she took his hand and got up. 

He carried her bag and led her, no, more like gently dragged her sluggish figure to the couch and made her properly sit, never taking his eyes off of her the entire time. 

She leaned back and moaned at the soft feel of the couch.   
Adrien's cheeks heated up with colour when he heard her moan. Why was he acting up like this around her? It was just Marinette being Marinette. Just....why did she have to be so god darned cute?   
Every rustle, every motion she made lit up something new in him. 

"What if I don't wake up in time?" She said blearily. "I'm not very good at answering the call of an alarm clock." 

He chuckled. "Yeah, I figured. Don't worry. I have my phone on vibrate. I'll stay right here and wake you up." 

In response to that, she shuffled closer to him, and snuggled sideways against the couch, tucking her legs behind her. 

No, she wasn't touching him, but the space between them was tantalizingly close, and it was driving him insane. 

"You are amazing, Adrien." She muttered sleepily. "What did I do to deserve you?" 

Adrien's eyes widened as he looked away. Why was she saying things like that? To him of all people? When she could have any guy she wanted? 

No. She was tired and when people were tired, they didn't make much sense. He should know. 

When he turned back to respond to her, she had already fallen asleep. 

He already felt his features softening as he stared at her. She was clearly a restless sleeper as her eyes were still moving, and she let out soft noises every time she breathed out. 

'No, Adrien snap out of it!' He scolded himself harshly. Marinette was his friend! He couldn't be staring at her like some creepy stalker!

His mind frantically searched for other things to do, other things to think about, things other than 'Marinette' and 'adorable' and 'hfhfsjhshs'. The only other thing his brain cells came up with was sleep, so he set an alarm for ten minutes before the bell rang and closed his eyes. 

\-------  
Dutifully, his eyes opened as soon as he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Pulling it out, he sleepily turned off the alarm. 

They had to get a move on if they didn't want to be late.

What he saw next to him was enough to destroy every last amount of sleep left in him. 

Marinette was snuggled up next to him, her small hand was on his chest (HIS CHEST!) and his other arm was around her shoulders and cradling her head into the crook of his neck. 

Even after he stopped touching her hair, he could still feel her breath tickling his neck. 

He laid back on the couch, not wanting to leave this behind. 

His eyes snapped open again.

This wasn't a dream.

Marinette was really snuggled up against him.

They were going to be so late.

He was an idiot. 

But that was the best nap he had in AGES. 

No, he was an idiot. 

But Marinette chose to snuggle against him. He didn't have to do anything-

OKAY-time to get up. 

Gently removing his arm from around Marinette, he pushed himself away to avoid putting both of them in an embarrassing situation when she woke up. 

Getting her head to move away from his shoulder was a harder task. She wouldn't budge. And Adrien didn't want to be rough with her. 

"Marinette?" He gently called. 

"Hnnngggg" she coherently said. 

He fought a hard battle against not dropping his heart eyes again. 

"We have to go. Class is about to begin." 

"Nooooo too comfortabuble." She babbled. 

"Marinette." He poked her arm. 

"Okay, okay, fine." She muttered, annoyed as she got up, taking her bag.

Huh. Adrien noted how Marinette didn't even react to sleeping on him. 

He was supposed to be relieved, right? 

"We're not too late, are we?" Marinette asked him, tightening her pigtails. 

"No! No aren't we- I mean, we are not." He stuttered. 

He could feel Plagg snickering in his shirt pocket. 

"Thank you for staying with me Adrien. You are such a good friend." She smiled at him gratefully before leaving ahead. 

Did she just unknowingly give him a taste of his own medicine? 

"Of course, no problem!" He called to her cheerily, yet feeling extremely deflated inside.

His phone vibrated again and he pulled it out, realising he hadn't turned off the alarm. 

That was when he saw two messages from Alya. 

'Don't worry, only two people know about this photo and one of them is in the picture. ;)" 

She had sent the photo of him and Marinette snuggling together in the library couch. 

Adrien's breath hitched horribly. On one hand, he didn't see himself being that content and at peace like he did in the photo. On the other hand, he was extremely embarrassed. 

'DOES MARINETTE KNOW?!' He sent back frantically. 

'Sunshine, I know my best friend. Of course I wouldn't send something like this to her. You have my word. Ladyblogger's honor.' 

'Alya, what if she's too embarrassed to be seen with me?! She's going to hate me forever!' 

She sent him back a bunch of the laughing emojis. 

'LMAO you crack me up, Adrien. She could never hate you.' 

"Adrien?" He jumped up, realising he was on the threshold of the library and Marinette was calling out to him. "Are you coming?" 

Adrien gulped. What was it with him today? Why couldn't he just function normally around Marinette all of a sudden?!

"Yeah, I am! Sorry, Natalie was texting me." He lied,looking back at his phone seeing that Alya had texted him again. 

'On a happier note, I hereby proclaim you the reigning king of the #marinettechallenge. Two wins in a row - that's awesome Your Majesty!"

Adrien turned his phone off and threw it into his bag, not wanting to see anything more. 

He was in trouble. Deep deep trouble.   
And yet, it didn't feel like the bad kind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh Alya, you are the wingwoman we all need.


	3. Day 3: Adrien and Multimouse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Adrien gets targeted by an akuma for ransom, Multimouse scurries in to save the day.

Adrien opened the car door by himself, not waiting for the Gorilla to do it for him like usual. He ran up the steps two at a time, making a beeline straight for his room. 

The house was quiet, but that wasn't unusual. Not that he cared, but he had to make sure that he was alone. 

Opening his bedroom door and locking it shut, he let Plagg out of his shirt. 

"Do you mind slowing down? My brain is rattling in my head!" Plagg grumbled, holding his tiny head. 

"No time to lose, Plagg. La Mode will be here any soon! Need I remind you that she's after me??" He retorted, tossing him a piece of cheese. 

"So much for a peaceful photoshoot." Adrien muttered as Plagg chewed on his cheese. 

"I don't think she'll be coming after you soon enough, Ladybug got you out of the way at the right time." Plagg stated. "So what did you do to her? Did you break her heart, Casanova?" 

"What? No! Eww!" Adrien shuddered in disgust. "I recognise her. She was at my dad's office this morning, I saw her coming out and she didn't look too happy. I didn't think much of it then, my dad's employees are rarely pleased with him. From what she was screaming about in the park, I think my dad fired her or something." 

"And the best way to go after her boss, is to go after the kid." Plagg whistled. "Very smart." 

"Yeah yeah whatever. Time to transform-" Adrien said, but that was before he saw a razor sharp knitting needle shoot through the glass of one of his windows, and landed upright on top of his bed. 

"ADRIEN AGRESTE!" He heard a roar growing steadily louder. 

"We can't transform here." Adrien stuffed Plagg into his shirt and ran into his shower, but he was sent spiraling into his bed with a kick to his head. 

"Oww.." he said, holding his head. That was going to leave a bruise. 

"Agreste Junior." He opened his eyes to see La Mode standing in his room, panting and looking more insane than feral. Her outfit was a patchworked jumpsuit hastily put together and her hair flew around her head in strips of fabric. She had a bag strapped around one shoulder, where he supposed she got her weapons from. On the outside, she looked like a harmless cloth doll. 

"Look, whatever my dad did, I'm sure I can reason with him." He stood up on his bed, holding out a hand in peace. "You don't have to go after me for what he did." 

"What he did was fire me just because he didn't like my idea! He fired me like I was some lowly intern!!! I have been working for your father for 5 years. FIVE WHOLE YEARS! Do you know what I had to give up to get where I am?!" 

"I actually don't know what you had to give up." Adrien said cautiously, stepping off from his bed instead of jumping off of it, his arms raised up, meaning he meant no harm. "But I do understand how you feel. My father isn't exactly fair sometimes, but if you would let me get through to him, I could help you. You don't have to side with evil to get what you want." 

La Mode's face softened for a moment. A single moment before the butterfly mask appeared around her face again. 

"No, don't listen to him!" Adrien urged. "He is trying to trick you!" 

La Mode sighed and the mask disappeared. She dropped her fighting stance and rummaged in her bag with one hand, her eyes never leaving Adrien's. 

"Adrien Agreste, you have a pure heart. You're nothing like the man I am after, and I don't want to hurt you, because I don't stand for injustice. I'm giving you one last option. Come with me as my hostage to lure your father out, and I won't harm you." 

Adrien's jaw dropped. Since when did akumas offer a peace treaty? Did he really get to her? 

Shaking himself out of his momentary shock, he stood his ground. "I'm sorry, but I can't." 

La Mode's face twisted into a deadly glare. "Then you leave me no choice." She pulled out a strip of fabric and threw it like a whip at Adrien. 

"LOOK OUT!" A new voice called out and something collided with him, leaving him looking up at the person on top of him, his back against the floor a good few inches away.

Adrien felt his breath leave him when he realised that Multimouse, also known as the superhero who saved him and Ladybug from Kwami Buster and also known as his friend Marinette Dupain-Cheng was on top of him and he was holding her waist as she was sitting on top of him.

"OH! I'm sorry!" She said, immediately rolling off of him, and Adrien tried hard not to let out an 'aww' when he saw her nose scrunched up the same way Marinette's did when she was embarrassed. 

"Who are you?!" La Mode bellowed. Adrien saw that she was getting to her feet from the other side of the room, presumably where Multimouse had kicked her. 

She saved him _and_ kicked the akuma's butt? 

Ladybug couldn't have chosen a better hero. 

"I'm Multimouse, and on behalf of Ladybug and Chat Noir, you are going down!" she said confidently. 

La Mode burst out laughing. "I didn't think Ladybug would get any stupider, wow! Leaving _another_ miraculous right under my reach!" She threw another knitting needle at him, and Multimouse deftly dodged it, carrying Adrien along with her. 

"I need your help!" she stressed, glancing around the room. 

"Just say the word!" he replied. 

"I need you to get her bag. Can you do that for me?" she asked, pulling out her jump rope. 

"Anything for you, Multimouse," he confirmed with a grin. 

She smiled back at him. "Multitude!" she cried out, power washing over her and leaving behind several tiny Multimouses across the floor. 

"Alright, girls." Adrien flexed his fingers. "Charge!" 

At his command, they all lunged for La Mode, who was relentlessly throwing tinier needles at them, each tiny hero effortlessly dodging. 

"Get off me! I say, get off me you dirty mice!" La Mode whimpered in disgust, batting her body as the Multimouses climbed on top her, effectively rendering her unable to move without getting tickled or bit or subtly punched. 

"I'll be taking that!" Adrien grinned as he snatched the bag off of the akuma's shoulder. She wasn't letting go of it either, pulling it back and engaging in a brief tug of war as La Mode clawed at his hands. 

While La Mode was faster and definitely smarter, (from what he saw of her in the park, she managed to incapacitate the entire set. He was the only one who got away scot free, and that was only thanks to Ladybug) he was a lot stronger than her. By the time he had pulled with every last bit of brute strength he had in him, he fell hard on his back with the akumatised object. 

"Tear it apart!" An overlapping cacophony of the Multimouses' voices pulled him back to reality and he immediately obliged. 

Pins, needles, fabric, pincushions fell everywhere, leaving behind only the offending purple butterfly. 

"NOOO!" La Mode cried as the several Multimouses ran into each other, finally growing back into her normal size. 

"Well that was shorter than I expected." She said nonchalantly, pulling out a jar he hadn't noticed her carrying and catching the butterfly in it.

"Are you okay, Adrien?" she inquired, holding out a hand, which he took. 

"That was...." he gaped like a fish. " _You're_ amazing." 

Her cheeks went red and she laughed nervously. "Well, you know, all in a day's work." 

"What happened to me?" The red-haired, middle aged designer, whom Adrien recognised sat up, holding her head. 

"Madame Roberts?" Adrien said, walking over to her. 

"What am I doing here? Adrien AGRESTE?" She gawked at him. 

Multimouse rushed to her side. "You were akumatised. It's all okay now." 

"Wait, if I was akumatised," she said, as both Adrien and Multimouse helped her up. "Where are Ladybug and Chat Noir?" 

If either of them noticed the other flinching at the same time, they chose to ignore it.

"Uh, Ladybug sent me over to help you!" Multimouse said nervously. 

The door rattled and Adrien's head shot up. "Adrien! Adrien! Open up the door!"

"Coming, Natalie!" he rushed over and opened it. 

"Are you alright?! Why was the door locked?" Natalie fretted, craning her neck to see around him.

"Uh, the Akuma came after me and it locked the door," he fibbed, rubbing the back of his neck anxiously. 

"Madame Roberts?" Natalie said, her eyebrows raised, looking over Adrien's head. "I see....and who are you?" 

"She's Multimouse!" Adrien immediately introduced cheerfully. "She's a part of the superhero team and she saved me." 

"Ah." Natalie hmphed, striding forward, pointedly ignoring the recently akumatised designer (who was also doing the same) and shook her hand. "Thank you for your help." 

"No problem, ma'am." She turned to Madame Roberts. "Do you need some help, Madame-?" 

"No need." She said haughtily, turning her nose up in the air. "I only find it a waste of time to be possibly breathing the same air as Gabriel Agreste."

"Then I suggest you leave." Natalie snapped back defensively. 

"Certainly." The former akuma stormed out of the room in a huff. 

"Adrien?" Natalie turned to him.

"I'll be fine. Ladybug should show up any minute now." Adrien said.

Nodding to him and Multimouse, she left. 

"Adrien, I think you have a few bruises forming." Multimouse said suddenly.

"Huh? Where?" 

She held up his right wrist to show the blue marks forming. Her hands brushed against his ring and he trembled at the feeling of her fingers, even through the suit. He was reminded of how easily he felt inclined to trust her with his miraculous that day.

"There and here," she gently brushed back his hair to reveal his blackening temple where La Mode had kicked him. 

Adrien nearly closed his eyes at her touch, savouring it as she gently brushed her fingers against the slightly painful bruise. 

"Adrien?" 

"Huh?" 

"Am I hurting you?" 

"No! Not at all. It's fine. Ladybug's powers should fix everything anyway." He reminded her, eyeing the fluttering butterfly in her little jar.

"I am so sorry." She agonized, moving her hand away. "If only I had arrived earlier, you wouldn't have been hurt." 

"Hey, don't blame yourself," he reassured her, taking her hand back in his, forgetting that he wasn't supposed to know that this was Marinette, his classmate and friend, and he wasn't supposed to treat her like she was his classmate and friend.

"You practically saved my life out there, Multimouse. You are pretty awesome for a first timer." He grinned at her, rubbing his thumb against her hand.

"Wait, really?" she asked, looking up at him so abruptly her mouse buns bounced around. 

"Yes, really. Ladybug made the right choice choosing you. Uh, whoever you are, that is," he rambled awkwardly. 

She smiled. "I couldn't have done it without you, though. You were a great help." 

Then, she reached up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek, lingering there a little bit. "Thank you, Adrien." 

"I should get going, Ladybug is going to need this. Bye!" she blurted out, hopping out the broken window. 

Legend has it that Plagg was still cackling at Adrien's red face and frozen form, even after the Miraculous Ladybug healed everything. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This idiot boy. I still love him.


	4. Day 4: Hand Touches

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette would do anything for Adrien, even if it included acknowledging that Chloe was his oldest friend.

Marinette usually was very observant in class, (especially nowadays, since she was not actively pursuing Adrien and staring at the back of his head), but today, she was heavily distracted. 

Mostly because Adrien was distracted as well. 

For one thing, whenever Miss Bustier turned around to the blackboard, he would turn and communicate wordlessly with Sabrina, who had switched seats with Chloe and was sitting directly opposite him. 

Chloe, on the other hand, was staring out the window, with no sense of presence of mind. 

Marinette noted heavily how much more quieter Chloe had become a month into the Miracle Queen debacle.   
She barely spouted out the answers to questions (whether they were right or wrong) obnoxiously, she didn't brag about the goods her daddy gave her, she didn't talk to anybody, not even Adrien, except for Sabrina, and that was only when she had to order her around. 

Sabrina was mouthing something to Adrien, and he wasn't taking his eyes off of her as he intently listened. Marinette tried to look at Chloe, but all she could see of her was her blonde ponytail. Even her body language didn't give away any signs of anger or sadness. 

She didn't regret taking the bee away from Chloe. Maybe at one point, she felt bad about it, but now, she knew that Chloe truly wasn't ready to be a hero.

She wasn't a completely bad person, and Marinette knew she had the ability to change, she wasn't irredeemable like, say LILA, but right now, she couldn't even make out her reaction to the consequences of her actions. 

Miss Bustier turned back to the class, and Marinette, Adrien and Sabrina immediately resumed their original positions. 

Marinette side eyed Adrien, and saw that his eyebrows were furrowed and he was looking at the blackboard, but barely registering anything that Miss Bustier was saying. He looked deeply troubled, and his eyes were swimming with something Marinette could recognise. 

Worry. 

One of his fists were clenched on his seat, and Marinette slowly inched her own hand and placed it over his closed fist. 

Immediately, his tightened muscles relaxed, but his fist didn't open.   
He turned to look at Marinette, and she wordlessly asked if he was alright. 

He let out a half smile and nodded.

When Marinette made it clear that she wasn't convinced, he opened his fist and let her warm palm envelop his colder one. Without hesitating at all, Marinette intertwined her fingers with his, and he reciprocated the action gratefully. 

She was supposed to be comforting him, but she didn't mind the tingly warmth erupting from their conjoined hands anyway. 

They stayed that way till class ended.   
\--------  
Alya and Nino walked out of class, chatting about whatever as they left for a unusually free PE period, since Monsieur D'argencourt was off sick.

Chloe was watching Sabrina pack both of their bags. The class was mostly empty.

Adrien was lingering behind and Marinette had a faint idea why. 

She really truly intended to leave and give Adrien his space. 

She slid out of the bench too quickly, and the gods of unclumsiness didn't listen to her prayers. She tripped over the desk's leg and went sprawling on the floor with the contents of her bag spilling out across the floor. 

Adrien was by her side in an instant. "Marinette are you okay?" He said anxiously, kneeling by her side. 

Out of habit, Marinette winced, not from her limbs slightly stinging, but from expecting Chloe to laugh out loud and say something derogatory. 

To her surprise, Chloe looked her way for a second, scoffed and averted her eyes. 

"Uh, I am fine, thanks Adrien." Marinette said, taking both his offered hands as she stood up. 

"You're not hurt are you?" He said, looking her over and still not letting go of her hands.

"No, no, I am- I am okay." She stuttered, the butterflies in her stomach pooling heavily. 

"Here, let me help pack your bag." He let go of her hands (which she was heavily by) and knelt down to pick up her books. 

Marinette eyed Chloe heavily as she picked up her stuff, mostly daring her to say something that Adrien was wasting his time with commoners. 

"I packed your bag, Chloe!" They heard Sabrina say as Marinette zipped up her bag and thanked Adrien graciously.

"Uh, what are you doing?" Chloe snapped at Sabrina as she carried Chloe's bag along with hers. 

"Carrying your bag, Chloe! Like always!" Sabrina said. 

"Why, because you think I'm so incapable of carrying my own bag?" She yelled out of nowhere and Marinette and Adrien flinched. 

"No! No, Chloe that's not it at all!" 

"Then what? What, Sabrina?! When are you going to look at me and see someone who is good at whatever she does, including carrying her own luggage?!" She grabbed her bag right off of Sabrina's shoulders. 

"Chloe, what are you doing??" Marinette stepped up. "You're going to hurt her!" 

"Stay out of this, Dupain-Cheng." Chloe growled at her. "And you!" She pointed one of her razor sharp nails at Sabrina. "You better stay out of my way or else-!" She didn't finish the sentence as she stormed out with her bag. 

"Chloe!" Adrien called but she didn't respond. 

"Uh...." Marinette said awkwardly, staring at both a harassed looking Adrien and a teary eyed Sabrina. 

"Marinette," Adrien turned to her. "Sabrina and I have some things to talk about. Alone, if that's okay." He said pleadingly, although Marinette could see he was worrying if he had offended her. 

"Of course!" Marinette said understandingly. "No problem. I hope you'll feel better soon, Sabrina." 

Sabrina nodded sadly at her. 

Marinette was about to leave, but Adrien caught her hand. She turned to see him, expecting him to say something along the lines of not going after Chloe now. 

She didn't expect to see his beautiful green eyes, normally full of life when he was hanging out with her, Alya and Nino, to look so troubled and....shackled somehow. 

"Adrien?" Marinette said, questioningly. 

"I...uh, it's nothing." He gulped back what he was going to say. "I just wanted to say...thank you." He was squeezing her hand gently, but at the same time, his hold was that of a drowning man holding onto his last breath. 

"Anytime, Adrien." She knew that was not what he was going to say, but she appreciated it all the same. 

\---------  
Marinette was making small talk with her friends, but her eyes darted around the large gymnasium, waiting for a glimpse of Adrien. Chloe was nowhere to be seen. 

She saw a flash of red hair in her peripheral vision, and her heart leaped when she saw Sabrina enter the gym, only for it to fall a second later when she found that she was alone. 

Excusing herself from her friends, Marinette went over to Sabrina, who was shaking like a leaf, although considerably less than earlier. 

"Sabrina? Are you feeling better?" Marinette asked gently. For all her years of Chloe's bullying, Marinette couldn't imagine being Sabrina, not knowing when Chloe was going to burst into flames and always becoming casualty. 

"Yes, I am, Marinette, thank you." Then her eyes narrowed. "If you're going to ask me what Adrien and I talked about-" 

"No, I'm not going to." Marinette said calmly. "That's between you and him." 

"Oh, that's good then." Sabrina sighed in relief. 

Marinette had to admit that it stung, but she wasn't going to blame Sabrina for being distrustful. She has had her fair share of acting irrationally when it came to Adrien and Sabrina has had her fair share of...well, Chloe. 

"Where is Chloe, though? Have you seen her around?" 

Sabrina shook her head. "No, I saw her leave school a few minutes ago, she kind of yelled in Adrien's and my face that she was sick and she was going home." 

"Oh....I don't know what's bothering Chloe, but...I'm really sorry she's taking it out on you two." Marinette said. "You don't deserve that." 

"....thanks Marinette. Despite what Chloe tells me, I've always known you are a good person." Sabrina smiled weakly. 

Marinette nodded, but then a certain blond entering the room caught her eye. 

Adrien didn't go over to Alya and Nino like she expected he would, instead, he slid down against one of the walls and put his head in his hands. 

"I think it's better if you talk to him." Sabrina said. 

Marinette nodded and Sabrina left her with a wave. 

She sat down next to Adrien. "Hey, trouble in paradise?" 

He snorted humorlessly. "It never was paradise to begin with, but okay, I guess." 

"Adrien, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to." She said. 

Feeling a little emboldened by remembering their moments that morning in class, she took one of his hands and held it until he looked at her. 

"But if you do," Marinette continued. "I will be here to listen." 

"Believe me, Marinette, I want to tell you, but....I don't think you would want to hear it." He said seriously, but he didn't let go of her hand. 

"Why not?" 

"Because it's about Chloe." He said abruptly. His eyes widened when he realised how that sounded. "Uh, I don't mean like you hate her or anything!" He hastily said. "I mean.... she's been horrible to you, she's been horrible to a lot of people in this room, and I completely understand if you don't want to involve yourself in something that involves her." 

"Adrien, Chloe and I are not friends. But she is yours. She has been for a long time. And if I'm going to be a good friend to you right now, I'm going to respect that." Marinette said firmly. 

"Really?" 

"Yes, really." Marinette's lip quivered, thinking back to all the times she felt jealous of how close Adrien and Chloe were. True, Chloe was definitely toxic towards him in more than one way, and she always felt entitled of his time and attention, but that didn't change that she cared about him. In fact, she was willing to bet the only person Chloe cared about was Adrien. 

And he often got annoyed with her and her behaviour, and she overheard him tell Nino once that he was worried Chloe was being too hasty and brash when she revealed to the whole world that she was Queen Bee, but he was still the only one in their class besides Sabrina who gave Chloe more than one chance. He was the only one who didn't celebrate when she left.

"So, what happened?" She asked. 

"Well, apparently, as Sabrina told me last night over the phone, Chloe hasn't been talking to her for the past three weeks. She hasn't even called her over to do her homework, and everytime she talks to her, she barely responds unless she has to." He said. 

Marinette nodded along, listening intently. 

"After that, I tried calling Chloe, but it went to voicemail. I told her that I don't know what she is going through, and I know that we aren't close anymore, atleast not like we used to be, but she should still keep Sabrina close, because she was worried about her and she just wanted to help. She never responded." He sighed.

"Marinette, I know that she doesn't even treat you like a fellow human being, let alone show you respect after how good you were to her, from forgiving her for what she did to your purse, and throwing her a party when she saved her dad, so I'm not going to ask you to help me with her. It won't be fair to you." He said earnestly. "Besides, she is my friend." He said resolutely. "I don't want to be responsible for enabling her into doing something worse." 

"Wait." Marinette flared, red flags rising everywhere. 

"What are you saying? That if Chloe does something worse, then it's your fault because you didn't stop her??" 

"Uh.....yeah?" 

"Adrien!" Marinette gasped indignantly. "No!" 

"What do you mean?" 

"You are in no way responsible for what Chloe could pull! She is responsible for her actions because she is the one who chose to do them! Where is all this coming from?" 

He looked uncomfortable, and Marinette reassuringly rubbed a thumb over his hand, letting him know that it was okay, and he could trust her. 

"I really felt bad about what happened that day Chloe left Paris." 

"That day we all threw a party?" 

"Yeah. I didn't understand it at the time, but I could see why you all were happy. And I felt guilty about missing Chloe because I was the only person she was nice to. And I even shamed you for celebrating that and - I am so sorry I made you feel that way, Marinette." His eyes were shining with tears. 

Marinette was painfully reminded of how this was the first time she saw Adrien cry. 

"Adrien, no, you don't have to apologise." She said, squeezing his arm with her free hand, as he rubbed his eyes with his free one. "Besides, I was out of line, Chloe isn't the best person around but I shouldn't have called her useless-" 

"You had every right to. Weren't you and your parents in that train she almost crashed?" 

"Uh, yeah." Marinette chose to ignore the nagging question of how exactly he knew that. "But....okay, that is a pretty touchy subject. We don't have to talk about that. Still, I know you care about Chloe, and if there is anyone who can push her to change, or at least help her deal with whatever she is going through, it is you. You are the only one she will listen to. And if she doesn't,...." Marinette's face hardened. "Promise me you won't blame yourself." 

"Marinette..." 

"Promise me, Adrien." 

"Okay." He held up their intertwined hands. "I promise." 

Marinette smiled. "So, what are you going to do?" 

Adrien pulled out his phone. "I think I'm going to go see her." He said thoughtfully. "My fencing lesson is cancelled tonight anyway, I have some time to spend with her without my father finding out about it." 

Marinette frowned at the implication of just how much control Gabriel Agreste had over his son's life. He couldn't even get to see one of his friends who was hurting? 

"But isn't your bodyguard supposed to be here only an hour after school? Don't tell me you're going to walk the five kilometres to Chloe's place!" 

Adrien chuckled at that. "No, I wish I could, but it's better if I'm in a position that my bodyguard can easily find me in. I can tell him to come early. He won't mind. He's pretty cool like that." 

Marinette let out a breath of relief. Atleast there was someone in his life who cared about what he thinks. 

Adrien texted him and a few minutes later, he gave her a thumbs up. "He said it's okay." 

"Chloe is lucky to have you and Sabrina, Adrien." Marinette said. 

"Speaking of Sabrina, I think I'm going to start by telling Chloe to treat her better." Adrien said. 

Marinette nodded. With just the right guidance, maybe Chloe could become truly worthy of a miraculous. Someday. 

She had briefly considered going to visit her as Ladybug, but Tikki had been against it, saying that going after her by Marinette's own admission would not make her realise her mistakes. 

The bell rang, and the class began to disperse out of the gym. 

"We should get to class." Adrien said, getting up and dusting his jeans and Marinette couldn't help but notice that he sounded as disappointed as she felt. 

"Yeah, we should." Marinette got up as well. "What is it?" She asked when she saw Adrien looking at her in a way she could not recognise. 

He leaned in and kissed her cheek gently. "Thank you for everything, Marinette." He murmured in her ear. 

"Uh, Ah, Welcome I am! I mean, welcome are you, I mean-! You are welcome, Adrien." She stammered. So much for getting to talk around him properly. 

He laughed softly at her antics.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little bit of Chloedrien, but in the end, I wanted Adrien to see Marinette as someone he could talk to about anything.


	5. Day 5: Statue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien apologizes to Marinette properly for The Statue Incident ™.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No statues were harmed in the making of this fic. We are responsible for the fate of one Adrien Agreste.

Adrien Agreste was going to be the first celebrity to have two wax statues at the Musée Grevin, a feat whose importance which Gabriel Agreste never failed to remind him about. 

His father's words reverberated in his head over and over again, but the minute his mind went to the museum, he winced horribly at the memory of his last visit. 

He still had no idea what Marinette meant by worshipping his fake statue, and....nearly kissing him. It was something he didn't want to think about. 

If he ever did end up kissing Marinette, he never wanted it to be like that, the romantic in Adrien said. 

Wait, what?? 

Why was he thinking about kissing Marinette?? She is his friend! 

_'No, stop it.'_ Adrien scolded himself. Kissing Marinette or thinking about kissing Marinette was out of the question. She was off limits. He knew she held a candle for Luka, and Adrien was nothing if not a honourable guy. 

Still....his stupid prank had deeply upset Marinette that day. It was not her fault he put her in that awkward position. Both of them had apologised, but Adrien still felt discontented with himself. No properly worded apology was going to give either of them their dignity back. 

He decided two weeks ago, that if he was going to properly show Marinette that he was sorry, he was going to do it right. He was going to give her a gift.

At first, he couldn't think of what could possibly make Marinette happy. She was one of those people who never asked for or needed much. That was one of the best things about her. 

He didn't want to go overboard and give her expensive designing equipment and give her the wrong message either. He of all people knew that grand gestures were amazing, but he preferred heartfelt, simpler ones. That was why he made her that lucky charm for her birthday. It warmed his heart whenever he saw that she had tied it to a zipper on her bag so that she carried it wherever she went, just like him. 

That was when he realised that he could give her something that actually had something to do with what he was apologizing to her for. 

Something he knew an artist like Marinette would appreciate. 

"We're here, Adrien." Natalie called from the front seat, bringing him back to the present. "We'll be back to get you in 2 hours."

"Thanks Natalie." Adrien said, getting out of the car, and perking up upon seeing the Museum's director, Veronique.

"Hello, Veronique." He waved. 

"Welcome back, Adrien." She said, leading him forward. "We're absolutely honoured to have our second wax figure of you, especially since your first one was the most popular one in the past year." 

He laughed nervously. "Uh huh, I know..." He trailed off. 

"Say, uh, that extra piece I commissioned you for, is it finished?" Adrien questioned. 

"Of course, it is all ready. We will give it to you personally once we are done taking your measurements in the molds. How are you paying for it?" 

"Card, please." He said, patting his pocket. 

"I think your commission must be the smallest statue any of our sculptors have ever made!" Veronique remarked as the climbed up the stairs. 

"Yeah, well, I couldn't possibly give her a life size wax statue of herself." He said. That would have been way too creepy and it would have sent Marinette running faster than he could say, "Cataclysm". 

"So, you opted to give her a miniature wax version of herself?" Veronique joked. 

"Why, do you think it's a bad present??" Adrien blurted out anxiously. 

She laughed. "No, of course not, Adrien. Your present is extremely thoughtful. She will love it." 

"Phew. I hope so." He was relieved, but still...not completely. What if it was really lame? 

Veronique looked at him, furrowing her eyebrows thoughtfully at the younger boy. "So tell me, who is the girl in the photo you emailed us?" 

Adrien blanched for a second but recovered quickly. "Oh, her name is Marinette." 

"I think I vaguely recognise her. Wasn't she one of your three friends who came here with you last time?" 

"Yes you would be right." He knew this conversation was heading in a different direction, but where?

"I thought so. She gives off the vibe of an artist. She would love what you are going to give her." 

"You really think so? Because she's the most talented fashion designer I know!" He gushed. "Her work is so delicate yet you can tell she puts a lot of effort into her pieces, and she even impressed my father enough to get a handmade hat of hers as a part of his annual fashion show's ensemble! Marinette is.... she's amazing." He sighed. "She's a true artist." 

"Well, it seems to me she's also truly lucky to have a boyfriend who cares this much." Veronique smiled. 

"Yeah...." He said dreamily, before realising what she said. "Wait, what?" 

His eyes threatened to bulge out of his head at being referred to as Marinette's boyfriend. 

Not because it was a horrible thing to be! Who wouldn't want to be with Marinette? 

No, the reason he was reacting this way was because-

"I think you're mistaken. Marinette's not my girlfriend." He said politely. "She and I are just friends, she sits next to me in class." 

Adrien usually loved being able to call Marinette as his friend. Why did his voice come off so disappointed? 

"Ah, my apologies. Although it does seem like she means a lot to you if you are taking the time to gift her something so thoughtful. And if I may be so bold as to add," she smiled warmly at him. "I think she will appreciate your present because it is you who is giving it to her." 

He inhaled deeply, taking in this new information. She was right. Even if Marinette hated it, she would never turn it down. She was too kind for that. 

"Alright, here we are." She said, pausing at the door to the studio. "Theo is waiting inside, shouldn't take too long." 

Adrien nodded. "Thank you. For the advice too. I really needed that." 

"Of course." She smiled.

\---------

Adrien was thankful Natalie hadn't arrived with the Gorilla on the return trip. She wouldn't be as easy to convince compared to him when it meant taking detours. 

"Thanks." He said gratefully to the large beefy man. "I won't take too long." 

He grunted in response. 

He got out of the car, holding his small tote bag. He had asked Veronique to go the extra mile and wrap the box in baby pink with little flowers that reminded him of Marinette's signature design. 

Why was he still standing outside?? It was just Marinette! He was never this nervous the last time he came over to her house!! 

"Just open the door, you coward." Plagg hissed from his shirt pocket. "Or I will do it for you." He raised his tiny paw which held a Cataclysm powerful enough to wreck the entire city. Adrien shut his eyes and blindly pushed open the door and the bell jingled. 

"Coming! Coming!" He heard Marinette's voice. The counter was empty but the lights were still lit and the cash register was still on. 

"Sorry, I had to lift some boxes but- Adrien?" Marinette said, coming from the back door. 

"Hi, Marinette!" He said, hating how his voice sounded like a squeak. 

"Hey!" She said enthusiastically, going behind the counter. "What's up? Are you here to buy something?" 

"Buh." What are words? 

"Is everything okay?" Marinette asked, leaning forward. "You look a little pale." 

"I'm fine!" Adrien said. Yes! It speaks!

"Okay....so, uh, my parents are away doing deliveries so... it's just me around here." She said, gesturing to the nearly empty bakery. "What can I get you?" 

"Actually, I got... something...for you." He wanted to kick himself. So much for being smooth. Plagg was going to give him hell for this once he was home. 

"...you did?" She whispered, like she could hardly believe it. "Why? I mean, not that I don't appreciate it, I do! But, what's the occasion?" 

"Ehm..." He mumbled. "Well," he placed the bag on the counter and leaned on it using his forearms. "I was at the Musée Grevin today." He said hesitantly. 

"Oh." Marinette said, turning as red as he did. "Yeah I guess that explains why...yeah." 

He cleared his throat. "I was actually there because they're making a second statue of me." 

"Oh? That's - That's amazing!" 

"You remember the museum director, right? The woman who showed us around that day?" 

She nodded. 

"I personally commissioned her to have this made..." He pushed the bag towards her. "For you." He rubbed the back of his neck. 

Her mouth hung open. "Adrien....I don't know what to say...this was so sweet of you." She said, and for her part, she looked deeply touched. 

Some of the feeling returned to his legs. "Well, go on, then. Open it." He said, semi-excitedly and semi-nervously. 

She nodded vigorously and pulled out the cubical box from inside the bag. "Oooh, this wrapper is extremely pretty!" 

"I picked it out." He said proudly and she laughed. "Figures."

She gently removed the tape, being careful not to tear the wrapper, and he could already see the gears running in her head, plotting to use it at a different time in the future for a different purpose. 

"Woah!" Marinette gasped in awe as she looked at the revealed present. 

It was an exact mini wax replica of her, based off of one of the photos he had discreetly asked Alya to send him, encased and affixed inside a glass cubical box.

He didn't want to admit the amount of time he had spent internalising how cute she was in the picture before he got over himself and emailed it to Veronique. 

"Adrien, this is...this is amazing!" Marinette squealed in delight. 

"Do you like it?" 

"Like it?? I LOVE IT!" She said, her eyes shining, holding it up carefully to examine it in the light. "This is so cute! It looks just like me!! Thank you Thank you Thank youuuu!!!!" She said, placing the box back on the counter and running around it to hug him fully.

Adrien laughed at her excitement as she threw her arms around him and he reciprocated, squeezing her tightly.

Then his tone turned somber. "I wanted to give this to you as an apology." 

"Huh?" Marinette said,moving back from him, but not moving her arms away. "For what?" 

"I wanted to apologise properly for... you know.... putting you in that awkward position that day with my statue prank." 

"Oh..." She said, realising, and moving her head to his present. "It's alright. I forgive you." She said simply.

"Really?" And that was when he realised his arms were still around her waist. 

"Yes, silly." She teased, moving away and patting his shoulder. "I thought we forgave each other a long time ago." 

"Yes, well...." He shrugged, watching her put the box carefully back in the bag and placing it under the counter away from danger. "Feelings linger....and..." He trailed off, comprehending how true that statement was. 

"In return, let me pack you a box of the best assortment of pastries we have." She said, planting her hands on her hips. 

His eyes lit up at the mention of food. "I mean, you're not obligated to just beacuse I gave you- I mean, yes, please, I would love some food." He caved when he saw her glare at him playfully. 

She tutted when he reached for his wallet. "On the house." 

"Are you sure your parents won't ground you for making a free sale?" He teased. 

"I like to think they'd ground me if I actually charged you." She said, busying herself with the tongs. "They really like you, you know." 

That warm feeling called home, which he hadn't felt in years spread from the top of his head to the tips of his toes. 

"So, here you go. Two crepes, five croissants, ten macaroons." She said, offering him the box. 

"Are you sure I don't have to....?" He pointed to the cash register. "I can pay, you know." 

"I know. You don't have to. My treat." She said kindly. 

"Thanks Marinette!" He said. "I wish I could stay a while longer, but I have a Chinese lesson in half an hour and I have to leave now." 

He cheered internally when he saw she looked as disappointed as he did. 

"See you in school then?" She smiled, half heartedly. 

"See you in school. And thanks for the food!" He said, his hand on the doorknob.

"Thanks for this." She said softly, holding up the bag. "Now everytime I look at my wax face, I'll think of you." 

Adrien felt a stupid grin form its way on his face. 

Oh no. 

He had to leave before he embarrassed himself even further.

"Adrien?" 

"Yeah?" 

"You gotta pull the door." 

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Adrien is me when it comes to doors. Always.


	6. Day 6: Aspik and Marinette

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Multimouse leaves no one behind, be it one of her several clones, or her self-loathing Aspik.

"Second Chance!" 

"-the sentimonsters are patrolling the roof-" Multimouse's warnings blared through his ears even though they were covered by his mask.

"Direct attacks won't work, I know." Aspik grumbled. 

Multimouse raised an eyebrow at him. "What time is it now?" 

"32." He said, deeply frustrated with himself. "I just don't get what we're doing wrong." 

"We should go underneath." Multimouse said suddenly. "That is, if we haven't tried that already." 

"No, no we have not." Aspik said, slumping down the roof. 

"Aspik, are you okay?" Multimouse touched his shoulder, kneeling in front of him. "You look exhausted!" 

The concern in her eyes, which he had already seen 31 times was enough to make him cave already and just...rest for some time. 

He wished he was Chat Noir again, but Ladybug knew that Mayura could easily exploit that weakness and neither of them wanted to end up destroying each other instead of their sentimonster look alikes. 

"I'm fine." He said, gruffly, and immediately regretting it when he saw Marinette's face fall. His voice softened. "Really, I'm okay. We can't stop now, Ladybug and Chat Noir are relying on us." 

"I just don't want you to feel like you are taking the brunt of the work." She said. "Do you want to switch the miraculouses for some time?" 

"No!" Adrien said so suddenly Multimouse flinched. "No, it'll be okay. I've done this before, as have you. We'll be fine." 

He gritted his teeth. He couldn't - He wouldn't let Marinette go through what he has to go through. They had nearly been thrown off the building thrice now. She would forget, but he would remember. He remembered missing her by merely inches before he swiped his wrist. 

"Let's go." He said determinedly, shaking himself out of one of many awful memories. 

\--------  
Multimouse cloned herself into two, and she and Aspik sparred against the sentimonster versions of Ladybug and Chat Noir. 

Hawkmoth had been getting more creative with his plans recently, she thought as she dodged Sentibug's punch while her clone tried to grab her from behind with a headlock. 

Marinette growled to herself as she watched Mayura stand on the top most spire of the roof serenely hiding her face with her fan. She didn't look exhausted like last time. Was that why her sentimonsters were stronger? And there were two of them? 

She willed her clone to merge with her as her necklace beeped with its timer. It was going to be impossible to get to Mayura if these two were going to block them - 

"Senti Charm!" She called and a huge gun, even huger than the one last time fell into her arms. 

"Is that all you got??" Multimouse scoffed. Of course no one knew, but she was Ladybug as well. It was going to take a lot more than huge weaponry to make her scared. 

Sentibug didn't speak, only fired. Multimouse vaulted on to the incoming red bullet, landed on the red gun and back flipped behind her. 

"Cataclysm!" She heard an aggressive low voice that did and did not remind her of Chat Noir. 

But that was not what made her recoil in horror. SentiNoir was charging at Aspik - ADRIEN, with a Cataclysm powered hand. 

"ASPIK!" She shouted in horror, frozen and unable to move. That cost her dearly, as the next thing she knew, a red shot fired at her and she was flying off the building. 

She caught herself at the ledge, but her hands were slipping away. 

"Wonderful job, Ladybug." A cold voice that sent chills down her spine grew louder. 

"Mayura." Multimouse spat as she saw her come into view, her fan unfolded and smirking downright evilly at her. 

"How does it feel to be nearly falling to your death?" She teased. 

She wasn't like Hawkmoth. Hawkmoth outright berated them with a barrage of insults and threats.   
Mayura managed to do all that without raising her voice. 

"You... won't get away with this." Multimouse vowed, her legs scrambling behind her to find a ledge to grab. 

"Too late. I already have." Mayura's foot raised, and she went flying when she came into contact with a green fist.

"Aspik?!" Marinette breathed in relief.

"I got you." His scaled eyes were wide with fear and anger he gave her his hand and pulled. "I got you, Marinette." 

Marinette froze. 

He knew?

He KNEW? 

Adrien knew she was-

She saw his eyes widen before he swiped at his wrist. "Second Chance!" 

\---------  
Aspik passed out the minute he felt the flash of light. 

"Aspik? Aspik!" He felt a pair of strong arms catch him before he fell. 

"Aspik, stay with me!" One of the arms snaked around his head. 

"Hnnngggg" he moaned, and his eyes lidded open.

"Oh, thank goodness." Marinette sighed in relief as she held him to her chest.   
"For a moment there, I thought I lost you!" 

He buried his face into her shoulder. "For a moment there, I almost thought I did." He muttered into her neck (which felt so warm and smelt of cinnamon and bread) without thinking. 

"What?" She looked at him and he flinched, immediately moving away from her. 

He sat up, not willing to lose the easy intimacy he found in her. "The last time I- Mayura was about to kick you off the building! She was about to kick you off the building and if I hadn't -" her arms went around his neck and her face pressed into his shoulder. 

"It's okay. It's okay, I'm here." She said soothingly rubbing his scaled back. "You saved me. You didn't lose me." 

"I almost did." He sobbed into her neck, hugging her lithe yet strong body to his own. 

"Aspik, we can take a break." She still hadn't let go of him. "They're not leaving anywhere. From what it looks like, Mayura doesn't want chaos like Hawkmoth usually does. You don't have to put yourself through more strain until you are ready." 

"No, I have to." He got back up again. He had to. He got up for Ladybug 25,913 times. He had to do it for Marinette too. 

"Aspik, please, listen to me. We can go somewhere else, you can hide and detransform and just rest-"

"You don't understand!" He snapped at her unexpectedly. 

Marinette flinched but refused to give up. "Then make me understand!" 

"I'm the only one among the people who Ladybug chose who actually failed her!" 

To his surprise, she didn't look horrified or disgusted. "I'm sure you tried-" 

"I tried for months to save her from Desperada and I failed! I failed her 25,913 times! None of the other heroes let her down! And now I haven't improved the slightest because I failed you 32 times already, Marinette!" 

Knowing her secret identity was a secret he couldn't keep bottling up anymore. He had to know. She had to know. He couldn't violate her trust like that. Screw the rules. 

Like he had expected, she froze. He didn't expect her to edge away from him with a terrified look on her face. 

"You, you know-? Oh no. I did something, didn't I?" 

"No, no you didn't." He tried to reassure her. 

"No, no, no, now you are going to be in danger, Aspik! Because of me!" She wailed, holding her head in her hands. "Why can't I do anything right?!" 

He gently pulled her hands away from her face. "Hey, listen to me, Marinette. This is not your fault. I promise." He gripped her hands in his. 

"Then how did you know if I didn't-" he placed a finger against her lips. 

"I recognised you the day you saved me, Marinette." He breathed. 

"...Adrien?" He didn't know, but she had finally caved. 

"Yeah, it's me." He sighed. "Sass, detransform me." He detransformed. 

"Mullo, detransform me." She mumbled, and Marinette appeared in front of him.   
"Adrien...I..." 

"Marinette, I promise that you can trust me with your identity." He said fiercely. "I won't...we don't even have to tell Ladybug or Chat Noir. I just...I couldn't bear knowing who you were and not letting you in on that. It feels too wrong." 

Marinette's head was spinning. Of course, she didn't mind Adrien knowing who MULTIMOUSE was, but Adrien's words made her wonder if he was really at fault for Chat Blanc knowing who she was.

She still didn't know how he knew, but she was certain Adrien wasn't at fault. He wouldn't. He tried so many times to save Ladybug who was nothing more than an acquaintance to him, why couldn't she trust him, her FRIEND, with a secret of her own. 

"I know you won't." Her voice shook with emotion. "I do trust you Adrien. And you can trust me too. Ladybug and Chat Noir don't have to know. No one has to know." 

"I just wish you got to fight with someone more competent than me." He hung his head, and Marinette was starkly reminded of how glassy his eyes were when he gave Ladybug back the Snake Miraculous. "If Viperion's identity hadn't been compromised this battle would have been over a lot quicker-" 

"Don't. Don't put yourself down." She interrupted him. "You went through what must have been months of...of trauma and-" 

"And I still failed." 

"You didn't fail at remaining loyal to Ladybug. You didn't fail at being patient. You didn't fail at persevering despite your failures. And that, is what matters the most, Adrien. Ladybug recommended you to Chat Noir for a reason. And not just because Viperion isn't around. What matters isn't that you lost, it matters because you still kept fighting for Ladybug. You still kept fighting for me.

"She is right, Adrien!" Mullo said sweetly, then seemed to shrink in on herself. "I-I mean I don't know you that well, but you are capable of this!" 

Sass landed on Adrien's shoulder. "I have never had a wielder who went as far as you did." He said thoughtfully. "That takes immense courage." 

"If you won't believe me, believe the 1000 year old creatures." Marinette joked. 

Adrien gave her a watery smile. "We need a new plan. Both of us going for the sentimonsters isn't working out."

Marinette hummed thoughtfully, the gears in her head whirring. "Then one of us has to go for Mayura while the other handles the sentimonsters." 

"I'll go." Both of them said at the same time.

"Adrien, if Mayura's Chat Noir gets you it'll be over! It has to be me fighting them! Look, I can clone myself, I won't be at it alone!" 

Adrien tensed, and Marinette put a hand on his shoulder.   
"If anything happens to me, there is always Second Chance. We need you intact for that. You should be the one to go after Mayura." 

No offense to Sass, but Adrien hated that he wasn't Chat Noir. He hated that he was the priority as the snake. He hated that he had to rely on time to protect her, and at the cost of his memories still remaining intact. Nothing mattered more than her being safe. 

He wasn't even sure if 'her' meant Marinette or Ladybug.   
Maybe he meant both of them.   
He didn't know. 

"Alright." He said resolutely. "Let's do this." 

They transformed, but this time, looks were exchanged differently knowing that the other knew they knew who they were. 

"Wait." Multimouse grabbed his wrist, right over the miraculous. "I know it probably won't happen, but promise me you won't let me forget who you are, Adrien."

Adrien pulled her closer to him into another hug as the tears blinded his vision. This one lacked any of the urgence their previous one had. This was comforting. This was steady. A reminder that Marinette still wanted him at her side after knowing who he was. A reminder that his second secret identity atleast, was burden he could share with someone whose real name he knew. 

Marinette didn't let go of the hug. She didn't know how much he needed it, but she would stay as long as he wanted. Until he realised that he wasn't a failure or a second thought. Until she realised that she had two boys in her life she could trust completely. 

Until the concept of his trust in Marinette, the civilian, compared to Ladybug, the superhero stopped overwhelming her entire being.


	7. Day 7: Letters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The A-Zs of being an oblivious power couple.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tried out something different with this one!

Adoring 

**_adj.- feeling or expressing deep affection, love, or admiration._ **

Whenever the two of them would engage in a conversation, the soft, adoring look on Adrien’s face would never settle.

Beauty

**_noun - a combination of qualities, such as shape, colour, or form, that pleases the aesthetic senses, especially the sight._ **

Marinette always knew Adrien was handsome, but whenever he truly smiled, and the smile reached his eyes, he looked downright beautiful.

Casual

**_adj. - relaxed and unconcerned._ **

As time went by and the two got better at communicating, Adrien would often absent mindedly casually hold Marinette’s hand in his when they sat together.

Dauntless

**_adj. - showing fearlessness and determination._ **

Marinette knew that it took a lot out of Adrien as Aspik, so she always took the time to appreciate his bravery in simply accepting the miraculous in the first place.

Empathetic

**_adj. - showing an ability to understand and share the feelings of another._ **

Adrien would always be there listen to Marinette whenever she needed someone to vent about Lila’s atrocities with.

Flirtatious

**_adj. - behaving in such a way as to suggest a playful attraction to someone._ **

Alya’s eyeballs would twitch with frustration upon seeing Adrien and Marinette flirt heavily with each other and still not get the underlying message.

Gallant

**_adj. - charmingly attentive and chivalrous_ **

Adrien was always well prepared for Marinette’s legendary clumsiness. She had no idea how he managed to catch her from falling when they were on opposite sides of a room.

Hilarious

**_adj. - extremely amusing._ **

Marinette had no idea Adrien was full of love for his vast vocabulary of puns. He still hadn’t succeeded in making her laugh, but she did admit they were funny.

Immaculate

**_adj. - free from flaws or mistakes; perfect._ **

Adrien loved when Marinette’s pure, unblemished passion for designing showed through her shining eyes, wide smile and crazy hand gestures.

Joyful

**_adj. - feeling, expressing, or causing great pleasure and happiness._ **

Marinette had no idea just how much her positive, happy attitude could do wonders to Adrien’s mood.

Kind

**_adj. - having or showing a friendly, generous, and considerate nature._ **

Both of them never hesitated when it came to helping out someone in need, and deeply admired the same in each other.

Love

**_adj. - an intense feeling of deep affection and attraction_ **

Adrien didn’t know when he started falling for Marinette. All Marinette knew was that she never stopped.

Miraculous

**_adj. - of the nature of a miracle or having the power to work miracles._ **

Their miraculouses weren’t responsible for who they were as people. It just made them being them easier.

Needed

**_verb - require (something) because it is essential or very important_ **

She didn’t know much about his home life. Regardless, Marinette’s friendship made Adrien feel wanted and valued and more than just a pretty face.

Obliging

_**adj. - willing to do a service or kindness; helpful.** _

Adrien was had the patience of a saint when it came to Marinette’s random meltdowns.

Protective

**_adj. - having or showing a strong wish to protect someone or something_ **

No one was aware of Adrien’s deadly glares at Lila if she got even an inch too close to Marinette.

Quiet

**_noun. - absence of noise or bustle; silence; calm._ **

As time went by, their periods of silences in between conversations became more pleasant rather than awkward.

Rain

**_noun - the condensed moisture of the atmosphere falling visibly in separate drops._ **

Marinette hated the rain, until a certain black umbrella and its owner became associated with it.

Secret

_**noun -** **something that is kept or meant to be kept unknown or unseen by others.**_

Adrien felt safe and at peace whenever he remembered he shared two secretive burdens with Marinette and Marinette alone.

Trust

**_noun - firm belief in the reliability, truth, or ability of someone or something_ **

They would exchange tender glances whenever Alya talked about the new mouse and snake superhero who defeated two sentimonsters without Ladybug and Chat Noir’s help.

United

**_adj. - joined together, for a common purpose, or by common feelings_ **

Trying to undo their lucky charms accidentally getting entangled with the other ended up in a bundle of laughs instead.

Valuable

**_noun - a thing that is of great worth_ **

They loved each other, but at this amazing point in their friendship, they valued each other too much to confess.

Wistful

**_adj. - having or showing a feeling of vague or regretful longing_ **

Plagg would roll his eyes at Adrien signing every blank space in his notebooks with “Adrien Dupain-Cheng.” Tikki would coo over Marinette’s designs for her future wedding gown.

Xenial

**_adj. - Hospitable, especially to visiting strangers or foreigners_ **

Adrien would come over to the bakery several times to relish in the warmth and hospitality of the Dupain-Chengs

Yin/Yang

**_noun - a concept of dualism, describing how seemingly opposite or contrary forces may actually be complementary, interconnected, and interdependent in the natural world, and how they may give rise to each other as they interrelate to one another._ **

They rarely disagreed on things, but that was only because they knew how to work around their differences.

Zany 

**_adj. - amusingly unconventional and idiosyncratic._ **

They were the kookiest, dumbest, silliest, and happiest when they were with each other.


	8. Day 8: Hair Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A few things change noticeably in Miss Bustier's class.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> let your hair down :to allow yourself to behave much more freely than usual and enjoy yourself:

"What's with the change in style, Marinette?" Tikki chirped.

"Well, you heard what Miss Chamack said." Marinette said, brushing her hair. "She thought that Ladybug was in my room for a second when my back was turned." She grimaced. "And then Manon wouldn't stop calling me Ladybug." 

"So you are changing your hair to mislead people? Good job, Marinette, I'm impressed!" Tikki said. 

"Eh, I may not always let my hair down. Maybe I'll try a ponytail tomorrow or something. The point is that no one should connect me to Ladybug. I am going to miss the pigtails though...." She sighed. "It's alright. I'll get used to it."

"You look beautiful with your hair down, Marinette." Tikki nuzzled her cheek. "You should wear it like that more often."

"Thanks Tikki." She chuckled, then froze for a second. "Wait... what's the time?" 

"Um.....school started ten minutes ago?" Tikki said nervously. 

"WHAT?!"

\-----------

"Adrikins!" Chloe shrieked. "What are you wearing?!" 

"Geez, can you shut it?" Alix snapped. "Some of us didn't get sleep last night." 

Chloe ignored her. "Are...you wearing a hoodie? The kind PEASANTS wear?!" 

"Chloe." Adrien said patiently. "You're causing a scene." 

"I think I'm well within my rights to cause a scene when my best friend wears clothes I wouldn't be caught dead wearing!" She snapped. 

"Chloe, I like wearing them. They're a lot more comfortable than what my father picks out for me." He rolled his eyes from his seat. 

"So you woke up today and just...decided you would dress up like a homeless person??" 

"Remember what we talked about, Chloe." He raised an eyebrow. "Being a better person includes being respectful of other people's choices." 

"But-" 

"Nuh uh." Adrien held up a finger. "You don't have to like my clothes, but you can't tell me to not wear them." 

Chloe looked like she was physically restraining herself from not breaking a nail. "Fine." She grumbled. "Wear your ugly clothes." 

Adrien smiled. It was still a start. 

"Chloe, I'm so sorry I am late!" Sabrina sprinted into the classroom. 

"Seriously?? I'm trying to sleep here!" Alix groaned. 

Adrien for his part offered her an apologetic smile which she returned in the form of a scoff. 

"Finally?? What took you so long-" Chloe backlashed before catching Adrien side-eyeing her. 

"I mean, it's fine that you're late." She said, making a shooing gesture to her seat. "Go on, sit down." 

Sabrina flinched. "Chloe, are you okay?" 

"Yes I am Sabrina, now sit." Chloe averted her eyes. 

Behind her, Mylene's jaw dropped. 

Adrien was fine with how Chloe had improved, it was pretty marginal, but it was still progress. 

He still had no idea how to impress upon her that you don't do the right thing for a reward, though. She still had it ingrained in her head that if she was nice enough, she would get the bee back. 

From her version of the events that happened on that day, she didn't join Hawkmoth because she believed in what he was doing. She wanted revenge against Ladybug.

When he said that Ladybug had already told her once that she couldn't be Queen Bee, she threw another temper tantrum, saying that Ladybug didn't deserve a hero like her. 

How was he going to make Chloe understand that being a hero wasn't a quest for a reward? 

Maybe he should talk this out with Ladybug first. She would know what to do, even if he did know Chloe better. 

"Dude!" Nino gasped loudly when he saw Adrien from the door. "What's with the costume change?" 

Alix growled with the force of a very tiny tiger. 

"I didn't want my dad to keep on picking those same stuffy clothes for me, man. When he didn't listen, I took things into my own hands." 

Nino's face split wide into a grin. "I couldn't be more proud of you, bro." He clapped him on the back as he took his new seat behind him. "Besides you rock this outfit." 

Adrien gave Chloe a pointed side-eye as he thanked him.

"Oooohhh, love the new look, sunshine!" Alya cooed over him a minute later. 

"I give up!" Alix grumbled despite Mylene trying to comfort her.

"Thanks Alya!" 

"Alright I suppose. It seems like Gabriel won't totally be killing you when he gets home." Chloe rolled her eyes, but her tone wasn't too harsh. 

"Oh no, I'm pretty sure he will be. He said, 'I'm not very happy with this, Adrien.' That's code for 'You're dead to me, son.'" 

"Over clothes?" Alya sputtered.

"You know how he is." Adrien said to no one in particular.

"Just checking in to make sure you don't foolishly expel yourself again." Chloe said finally before giving her phone her full attention. 

Adrien smiled, before wincing when he felt a sharp pain at the back of his head. 

"Ow, Alya!" He grumbled. 

"What did you to Chloe to make her harsh her mellow? I've never seen her speak in a tone that wasn't superior and snobbish." She whispered dramatically. 

“I’ve been speaking to her recently after....you know, the day of her parents’ anniversary.”

“Ah.” Thankfully Alya withheld her judgement.

“She is capable of change, Alya. She just needs a push in the right direction.”

“You’re doing the right thing, Adrien.” Nino said supportively. “Everyone deserves a second chance.”

“Okay...I just hope you know what you are doing. Promise me you won’t turn into her babysitter, okay? Don’t put her butler out of his job.”

He chuckled. “I promise.”

That was when he saw that he was still alone at his bench.

“Did Marinette tell you she was off sick today?” He asked Alya.

“I don’t know – wait, let me call her-“

“Class, please settle down!” Miss Bustier said, entering the classroom.

“Or not. Sorry, but knowing her she’s probably running late again.” Alya said.

“I’M HERE!” The class jumped in their seats as Marinette skidded to a stop in front of the teacher’s desk.

“I can see that, Marinette.” Miss Bustier said dryly and a few students laughed. “Please take your seat.”

“Told ya.” Alya said smugly, but it never reached Adrien’s ears.

Mostly because he couldn’t tear his eyes off of Marinette.

She was wearing her hair down again.

“So what happened this time?” Alya teased. “You stay up late ironing your dog again?”

“Alyaaaaa.” Marinette grumbled, a dusting of red across her nose which made her freckles seem more prominent.

_Holy smokes she was so beautiful-_

‘No, do not let thoughts travel there.’ Adrien told himself firmly as he busied himself with his bag.

It wasn’t a huge thing. Adrien thought. It was just a change of hairstyle. People do that all the time. Even Alya didn’t react to it and she was her best friend.

“Open your English textbooks to page 36.” Miss Bustier said.

Adrien did so, and even then he had to resist the urge to not look at Marinette again.

He snuck a peek, and she was turning the pages of her textbook. She caught his eye and smiled back at him.

He smiled back weakly.

Miss Bustier was saying something but he wasn’t listening. Marinette pushed back a strand of hair (which looked incredibly soft) behind her ear and suddenly his fingers were itching to do the same thing to her.

How was he going concentrate now when she looked like THAT? Why was this even affecting him??

\----------------------

Marinette put her book back in her bag after Miss Bustier announced that she would be back once she collected her lesson planner for their History period.

“Wow, congratulations, Dupain-Cheng.” Chloe sneered.

“What now, Chloe?” Marinette sighed, missing the way Adrien turned completely to his side blocking her protectively from Chloe’s view.

“You officially don’t look like a 10 year old. Those pigtails were such a fashion faux pas.”

It wasn’t a compliment, but it wasn’t exactly an insult either.

Alya had reared up in her seat, ready to dish back at whatever Chloe was planning to say, but even she deflated.

Marinette was puzzled. What happened to the Chloe she definitely expected to say that her hair was trash or something?

“Uh....thanks, Chloe?”

“See, Adrikins? I can be nice. Ladybug doesn’t know what she is missing.” Chloe flipped her hair. “I’ll be Queen Bee again in no time.”

Her fists clenched. Of course.

“Chloe.” He said, his voice impossibly gentle. “We talked about this. You don’t do nice things for a reward.”

“Whatever. I’m busy.” She said shortly.

“Teach me your tricks, Adrien!” Marinette whispered as he turned back to her, “How did you manage to bring about that in 4 days?”

“I don’t know. She’s still not very co-operative about it, but it’s still a start.” He shrugged, keeping his eyes on her.

Marinette had noticed he wasn’t wearing his father’s brand today,in fact the first thing she noticed was how good he looked in a hoodie. He could literally pull off anything – how did he do that?

“You’re still trying.” Marinette trained her eyes back at him so it wouldn’t look like she was blatantly checking him out, only to see that his eyes were mirroring hers too.

“That counts for something right?” Was his voice always that attractive? Were his eyes roaming around her face?

Marinette forced down a gulp. “Doing the right thing always counts.”

“Alright class, we’re gonna start a new chapter today.” Miss Bustier said, and the spark faded, ruining the moment.

A moment later, Marinette saw a piece of paper sliding towards her. 

When she turned to look at him, he simply nodded towards the paper, but she could see he was playing with one of the strings in his hoodie and tapping his feet nervously.

She opened the folded note, which said, “You should wear your hair down more often. It really suits you.”

Marinette looked up quickly when Miss Bustier began her lecture, but she still had to hide the hint of a smile in her face.

 _‘Time to throw my hairbands away then, I guess.’_ She squealed in her head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Took this literally for Marinette and semi-literally for Adrien. Took it metaphorically for Chloe.


	9. Day 9: Alternate Timeline

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What should have happened instead of the apocalypse that was Chat Blanc.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is NOT connected to the previous prompts.

Marinette sat down at the steps of the subway, crying her eyes out underneath Adrien's umbrella. Seeing the shocked, heartbroken look on Adrien's face hurt.

Gabriel Agreste was a powerful man, and from how Adrien talked about him, she had no doubt in her mind that he would go along with his threat. 

She couldn't do that to him. He loved coming to school everyday. It was the only place he didn't have to fit into the manufactured personality his father created for him. 

If she told Adrien about this, she had no doubt whatsoever that he would go against his father. And he was the only family he had left. The last thing she wanted to do was deprive him of the llittle love he already recieved. 

Another racked sob tore through her. Tikki told her to not go through with it. Her parents threatened to storm the Agreste mansion. 

They didn't understand that the only way Adrien wouldn't be harmed was if she stayed away. 

"Marinette!!" She heard his voice. Obviously, she expected him to come for her, but why did he sound so terrified?

She turned around to see him running towards her. 

"Look out!!" He shouted, pointing above her and Marinette gasped when she saw the purple butterfly that would have resulted in her being at Hawkmoth's mercy. 

Shaking, she got up and hurriedly backed away from it, but of course the Akuma could detect her distress and it just came at her faster. 

"Come with me!" Adrien grabbed her hand and dragged her inside the dimly lit subway. 

"Adrien, no!!!" Marinette gasped as she fought to keep pace with his longer legs. "You'll be akumatised instead of me!" 

"There's no way I'm letting either of those things happen!" She could hear him gritting his teeth. 

"How?? We can't keep running forever!!!" Marinette shouted, unable to catch her umbrella as it flew away somewhere on the platform. "Go back, Adrien, I can handle this!!" 

All of a sudden, he slowed down and pushed her behind him, putting his body in between her and the Akuma. 

"Adrien!" Marinette shook his shoulders. "Adrien, stop!" 

It was as if he didn't hear her. He continued to defiantly stare the Akuma down.

"I'm sorry, m'lady." He said, reaching up to touch one of her hands on his shoulders. "Plagg, claws out!" 

Marinette's heart stopped as her boyfriend was encased with green light, followed by leather, leaving behind her partner. 

"Cataclysm!" He roared as he caught the butterfly in his powered hand and let the dead remains of the butterfly go. 

"Chat Noir?!" Marinette shrieked. "You're Adrien?!" 

"I'm so sorry, m'lady." His voice, which was contracted with rage a few minutes earlier, was impossibly soft now. "Claws in." 

"Hey, Marinette." Plagg said somberly, a tone that he didn't often use. 

"You....knew?" Marinette whispered as he turned to her. 

"You knew?!" Tikki zipped out of Marinette's purse. 

"Yes, I knew." He towered over her and yet, he looked like he shriveled up a few sizes smaller. 

"How long?" 

He blinked. "Since the day you left me the beret. I saw you leaving after I entered the room." 

Marinette's jaw dropped. 

"Marinette," he pleaded. "I'm so so sorry. I should have told you before, I was being so...so stupid!" He slapped his forehead. "But then I saw your beret and then I realised you loved Adrien-me and..." He let out a choked sob. "I saw a chance to be with you, with all of you and I took it. But you still didn't want to know each other's identities- and, and I-" his lip quivered. "I meant what I said that day Marinette. I always had feelings for you, but I wanted to remain loyal to Ladybug and you deserved better than to be with someone who could give you only half his heart." He took her hands in his, exactly like he did when he confessed to her. "And when I found you were Ladybug, I finally understood why I felt that way. Marinette, I am so so sorry." 

"Kitty...." Marinette reached up to touch his cheek, which was just as wet with tears like hers was. "It's okay. I could- I could never hate you. I could never hate either side of you. Do you know why?" 

"Why?" 

"Because for the past two months, I've been guilty of seeing Chat Noir in Adrien's mannerisms." She admitted and he froze. 

"...what?" 

"I would meet up with you for patrol and then sometimes when I tease you, you would just blush and look away and I swore to myself that Chat looked exactly like how Adrien would react if I teased him. And...and sometimes you would-" she let out a laugh in between her tears. "You would make some wisecrack or pun or just goof around and I would think.....why does it feel like I'm looking at Chat Noir and not Adrien?" She said. 

"But I didn't think I would be this lucky - I mean, to have two of the boys I love end up being one and the same?" Marinette said. "I mean, I am Ladybug, but-" 

She didn't get to finish as a pair of lips covered her own. Adrien had both his hands on her cheeks and was kissing her. 

Marinette melted into his gentle embrace as her hands rested on his chest. His fingers went from her tear stained cheeks to her loose, dark hair and stayed there even as he pulled away. 

"I found you, chaton." Marinette whispered, hardly believing it. 

"I found you first." He said as she buried her face into his chest, and his arms instinctively wrapped around her waist. 

They were lost in each other until they heard sniffling. Marinette looked up, the top of her head brushing against Adrien's chin. "Tikki, are you crying?" 

"I'm sorry, this is just too beautiful!" Tikki wailed. 

Plagg on the other hand, had a frown on his face. "This is all well and good, but why did you break up with my boy in the first place?" 

Adrien glared at him, his hand gripping Marinette's shoulder protectively as she stiffened. "Plagg, not the time or place." 

"Don't worry, Adrien, I know Marinette isn't the kind of person who would do this. Which is why I'm sure she has a reason." 

"Plagg-"

"No, Adrien." Marinette sniffled, moving out of his hold. "He's right. I have to tell you something." 

"Tell me what?" He asked her softly, trying to not make her more apprehensive than she already looked. 

"Your father came to my house." 

Adrien's jaw dropped. 

"W-well, he didn't come to my house, Natalie did and he was on video call and-" 

"What did he do?" 

"He...asked me, no, threatened me to break up with you." 

"WHAT?" Adrien and Plagg said at the same time. 

Marinette buried her face in her hands. "I'm so sorry, Adrien, I tried, my parents tried-what are you doing, Adrien, NO!" She caught his fist before made contact with the wall.

"He did this?" Adrien's voice, always so gentle, so warm, so loving, was full of rage. "He...he, how could he?!" 

Plagg looked like he was about to burst into an entire mass of destruction. "What did that piece of crap say to you, Marinette??" 

Adrien turned back to Marinette. "Did he threaten your career in fashion? Did he threaten to use his influence in the industry to do that? Because I swear to god, if he did-" 

"If he had threatened me with that," Marinette said furiously. "There was no way I would have come here to do this. He threatened me with- he threatened me with you." 

"He did what?!" 

"He said, he said if I didn't break up with you," Marinette let out a small hiccup. "He would pull you out of school." 

Adrien's jaw tightened even more. 

"THAT'S IT." Plagg screeched, zooming away, but before Adrien or Marinette could react, Tikki caught his tail. "Plagg, stop!" 

"No! I won't rest until I give that old codger a Cataclysm to the face!" Plagg raged. 

Marinette took a nervous look at Adrien, but he didn't appear to seem distressed in the slightest. 

"What good will that do?!" Tikki shot back. "If you go out there you'll be exposing who Adrien really is to the last person who needs to know!" 

"I DON'T CARE!" Plagg shouted. "You have no idea how that dumpster pile of a human treats his own son! He treats him like he's an object! He doesn't talk with him unless it is to take it out on him for the smallest mistakes he makes! And now??? He took advantage of Marinette's love for Adrien and he tried to SABOTAGE that! How do you expect me to stay quiet?!" 

"I know, okay??? Ask Marinette just how angry I was after he threatened her! I begged her not to give in to him!!" 

"Well, that's not enough! Just wait until I-" 

"Don't worry, Plagg." Adrien said softly. "I'm not going to stand by and watch him threaten the one I love and let him get away with it." 

"Guys, can you give us some privacy?" Marinette opened her purse. 

"Of course, Marinette." Tikki said. She kissed Adrien's cheek, nuzzled Marinette's forehead and zipped into her purse. 

Plagg took his time. He softly headbutted Marinette and threw himself into Adrien's arms. Adrien held his protective Kwami close to him for a few minutes until he left by himself sadly into Marinette's purse. 

"If I refused to agree with him, you would have fought by my side. I knew that would happen. I didn't want you to lose the one thing that makes you happy. I thought it would be best if I stayed away." 

"Marinette." Adrien said, tucking a finger under her chin. "M'lady, please look at me." 

She finally did. 

"If you stayed away, I really would have lost the one who makes happy." 

Marinette's insides squirmed in anticipation. 

"Remember? I told you I would sacrifice everything I have just to be with you. When I said that, I meant it." 

"I know, Adrien. That's why I - I just didn't want you to lose the family you have left." 

"Oh, Bugaboo." His hands snaked over her waist. "Don't you know I'll always choose you?" 

That did it for Marinette. She reached up on her tiptoes and kissed him passionately. 

Adrien reciprocated almost immediately, pulling her to him even closer than she already was. 

"Adrien..." She breathed when he pulled away for air, only for him to capture her lips again. 

"M'lady." He said throatily in between kisses, his hands roaming around her back. Their salty tears mixed together as one. 

Marinette took a few steps back and found herself pressed against the wall behind her, her head cradled by his palm as Adrien continued to suck on her lower lip gently. 

They pulled away when oxygen became a necessity. Adrien knew that there were boundaries that he didn't want to cross yet until she let him, even though he wanted to spend the rest of eternity memorising and committing every inch of her in his memory until it was burned into it permanently. 

He kissed her forehead. "I promise," He kissed over her left eyelid. "Everything will-" her right one. "-be okay." Her right cheek. "I won't let go of you." Her left cheek. "I won't let him do this to us." Her nose. "No matter what." Her lips, again. 

"I'm so sorry I let him talk me into this." Marinette said, trailing her fingers from his scalp to his cheek. 

"Don't you dare apologize for what he did." He said fiercely, pulling her away from the support of the wall. 

Marinette's fear of Gabriel Agreste melted away into anger the more she thought about it. What kind of a father exploits his son's happiness like this??

If she could only find the words- 

"Adrien??" A reverberating voice echoed around the empty subway. 

"Natalie?" 

"There you are." Natalie was holding a folded black umbrella and walking towards them. "Oh. Miss Dupain-Cheng is here as well?" She said in a smooth, polite, clipped tone. "I believe this belongs to you?" 

Marinette took the umbrella stiffly, but her glare didn't subside.

"Why shouldn't she be here, Natalie?" Adrien said coolly. "Not like Father asked her to break up with me or something, is it?" 

Natalie raised an eyebrow, impassive as ever. "Adrien, your father only wanted the best for you-" 

"Yeah, no. I don't think so." Adrien harrumphed at her. "I have a few bones to pick with him. After you, my lady." He said, moving aside to let Marinette pass. 

She duly walked ahead, and once Adrien caught up with her, he intertwined his hand with hers. 

"I'll be right there beside you. You and me against the world, remember?" He leaned down to whisper in her ear. 

"I don't doubt it one bit." She replied. 

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I named my least favourite pillow 'Gabriel Agreste' and I use it as a punching bag. True Story.
> 
> PS: I've been wondering, should I make this into a three shot once Adrienette April is done?


	10. Day 10: Lucky Charms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What do you do when your crush is in danger from a lying schemer? Why, tie yourself to him using your bracelets, of course!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some funny cracky shit I wrote instead of sleeping.

Marinette was vibrating with excitement, so much that she squealed out a hello when Adrien entered the classroom. 

Adrien jumped a little, but his face broke out into a smile immediately. "Hey, Marinette?" 

"Why do you sound so shocked?" Marinette asked, not really paying hattention as she rummaged in her bag. 

"Um, well, because you're early?" Adrien said, and rightfully so. "Alya and Nino aren't even here yet." 

Marinette mock glared at him. "Low blow, Agreste. Low blow." 

Adrien laughed as he slid into the seat next to her. "So, what's gotten you all excited?" He said over the din of the chattering students. 

His eyes traveled to her hair. She was wearing it in a single ponytail today. 

"I was out in town yesterday shopping for some fabrics, and look what I found." She opened her pouch and pulled out a tiny charm. 

"It's a snake." Adrien noticed how her bangs fell across her face delicately, his heart skipping a beat.

"Yeah! And I got a really cute looking mouse as well." Marinette said, holding up her right arm, the sight of her wearing his lucky charm (his birtday present for her) made his chest tumble with excitement. She had added a silver mouse in the middle. 

"Marinette..this is..." Adrien picked up the snake charm. "You got this for me?" 

Marinette's face fell. "You don't like it? If you don't I could always return it and-"

"What are you talking about?" Adrien said, holding up the charm to the light. "This is so pretty! Its so intricate and I can see the designs on the scales even!" Noting the weird expression on her face, he added. "Don't look at me like that - I was taught to critique art since I was 10 years old." 

"Not that I'm suprised, but you're good at it." Marinette said, and added. "I actually bought it for your lucky charm, if you have it. That is, if you want me to add it?" She asked shyly. 

"If you don't think I strictly carry it around with me at all times, you don't know me at all." Adrien said, reaching into his bag and pulling it out. 

Marinette's expression softened greatly. He really thought her present was worth so much?  
She did remember Alya saying that Adrien cared for her deeply, but sometimes, it even rattled her. She felt stupid, slightest ashamed of it even, for not noticing all this during her haphazard attempts to ask him out. 

"Here you go." He gave it to her, handling it like a precious stone made of glass. 

"This shouldn't take too long." Marinette said, gently working on the knots. 

"Have I walked into another dimension?" Alya Cesaire stood in front of them at the desk. 

"When did you get here?" Marinette asked, surprised.

"I was standing there for a good few minutes, girl." She said smugly. "But I guess you and Mr. Model here were too busy existing in your own plane of existence." 

Her smug expression turned even smugger when the two of them blushed intensely. 

"Ahem." Adrien cleared his throat, and Marinette focused on hiding her face and unraveling the knot in the bracelet. 

"Have you seen Nino, Alya?" Adrien asked, and Alya's face fell. 

"About that...he called me this morning. He's caught the flu, you guys." She winced. "From what Chris said after he stole his brother's phone and I quote 'Alya! Come and take away Nino! He is disgusting! Big kids don't fall sick!' unquote, it's pretty serious." 

"Ouch." Marinette winced. 

"Poor Nino." Adrien sighed for his friend. "I wish I could go see him." He fiddled with the strings of his hooded sweatshirt. 

"It'll be atleast two days before he's alright." Marinette informed him gently. "We all love Nino, but I'm pretty sure he wouldn't want your father to get mad if you get sick too." 

"She's got a point, Sunshine." Alya said. 

"I hate this." Adrien pouted, resting his hand on his cheek. "I hate that I can't even go and visit my sick best friend without thinking about what HE might think." 

Alya and Marinette exchanged a worried glance. It really wasn't fair how his father got paranoid over the simplest things. Both of them knew very well what a huge struggle it was to get Gabriel Agreste to allow Adrien to eat with his friends in school and to wear what he wanted. 

Marinette inched closer to him and squeezed his shoulder. "Hey, you're allowed to think like that, you know that, right?"  
His guarded behaviour around them sometimes gave off the impression that he wasn't allowed to feel what his father didn't want him to feel. 

"Yeah." He said, with an air of finality. He appreciated the gesture, but he also didn't want to expand on it. 

"Listen, Adrien. I'm going to see him after school today. How about we all video call each other then?" Alya offered a comforting smile. 

"Yeah," he perked up. "Yeah, that sounds nice. Thanks Alya. Thanks Marinette."

"Of course, what are friends for?" Marinette said. Alya patted his shoulder as she sat behind Marinette in her usual place. 

"I think I'm going to text him before Miss Bustier arrives." Adrien said, pulling out his phone. "He never adjusts well to falling sick." 

Marinette and Alya giggled. The former was stringing the snake charm into the bracelet and knotting it up. 

Adrien texted a quick 'how are you feeling bro?' to Nino, but his eyes were on Marinette's deft, yet dainty fingers. He remembered how long it had taken him to string her lucky charm together. It involved quite a few accidents, broken beads, and slipping on broken beads and a very annoyed Plagg. 

Marinette was not just a hard worker, she was a talented one. 

He wasn't crazy for taking such tiny things about his friend and blowing it up in his head, was he? 

"Adrien, put away your phone, please." Miss Bustier said. "Class is about to start." 

He didn't even know she was inside the class. 

"Sorry, Miss Bustier." Adrien said, stuffing his phone back into his pocket. 

"Well, class, before we begin," Miss Bustier said. "Lila had come up to me with a small complaint." 

Both Marinette and Adrien stiffened in their seats. She turned to look at him worriedly, and he tried to reassure her wordlessly. 

Lila ambled into the class as if on cue. Marinette raised an eyebrow when she saw she was wearing glasses. 

'She wouldn't try to expel me again after what happened last time, right?' Marinette thought nervously. 

"Hi, everyone!" Lila said, sweetly. "I really don't want to take up too much of Miss Bustier's time, I know how hard she works." She cooed. 

Adrien did an eye roll that was so passive aggressive, Regina George would have been proud of him. 

"Yeah yeah, we know, get to the point already." Chloe snapped. 

Marinette never thought there would be day she agreed with Chloe on something, she thought as she fidgeted with Adrien's newly knotted lucky charm. 

Lila gave an appropriately hurt look in Chloe's direction before continuing. "I have been diagnosed with myopia. I only found out yesterday." 

Several of the class let out sympathetic gasps. 

"You're short sighted?" Alya asked. 

"Yes, I know." Lila said mournfully. "It was so serious, my doctor said I could have nearly go blind it I hadn't come to him at the right time." 

"But...myopia doesn't exactly cause blindness, if I'm not mistaken." Alya corrected, still trying to appear considerate and not insensitive. "It causes blurriness, yes, if it is extremely serious." 

Marinette pumped her fist underneath the table. 

Adrien wasn't that convinced yet.

"Yes, that is what I meant, Alya." Lila said innocently. "I may not have been able to see properly if it wasn't for my timely treatment. I think you are the one mistaken." 

"Of course." Alya said, smiling tightly, then muttered to herself, "What do I know, not like I wear glasses and not like I am myopic myself, am I right?." 

Marinette was straining hard to not giggle and give herself away.

"Are you feeling better now, Lila?" Mylene said kindly. 

"Thank you, Mylene. Yes, I am. Unfortunately, the problem is that my contact lenses won't be ready until Monday and I won't exactly be able to see the board." 

Adrien and Marinette's heads abruptly turned towards each other in perfect sync. 

Adrien nodded towards Chloe and Sabrina. Marinette didn't need to ask what he meant. There was no way Chloe was leaving her seat and also no way she would let Sabrina move if it meant sitting next to Lila. 

It was going to be either of them. And Lila was only attracted to one of them. 

Marinette's brain was on overdrive. She had to do something. There was no way she was going to let Adrien fall into Lila's clutches. 

Her eyes fell on the charm bracelet in her hand. 

Then on the one in her wrist.

This is a stupid idea. She wordlessly gestured to Adrien. 

To her surprise, he immediately offered his hand underneath the table. 

'Do it.' he mouthed, like he knew exactly what she was plotting. 

"Lila, it seems like Nino won't be coming to school today." Miss Bustier noted. "Why don't you sit next to Alya?" 

"Sure." Alya shrugged. "I don't mind. It's only for today, right?" 

"Oh but," Lila said. "That is still pretty far away from the board, Miss Bustier. No offence, Alya, I would have loved to sit next to you." 

"None taken." Alya said smoothly. 

"Marinette?" Miss Bustier asked. 

"Yes, Miss Bustier?" Marinette asked, her hands still working furiously underneath the table. 

"Would you sit next to Alya for today and give your seat to Lila, please?" Miss Bustier asked. 

"Please, Marinette? It would mean a lot to me." She said, baring all her teeth like a shark.

"Of course!" Marinette got up. "I'd be happy to." She bent down to pick up her bag. 

"Woah!" Adrien said as he was dragged away when Marinette moved. 

"Adrien, are you alright?" Miss Bustier asked. 

Marinette turned to look at him.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I don't know how that- ohhhh..." He said, looking down at his and Marinette's currently conjoined hands. 

"Oh no!" Marinette clapped a hand to her mouth. "Adrien I am so sorry!" 

"Marinette, Adrien, what is going on here?" Miss Bustier asked, coming over to their desk. 

"It's actually a little funny, Miss Bustier, but..." Adrien held up his hand to show that Marinette had looped his bracelet underneath hers and tied it to his wrist. 

"It's not funny, Adrien,I can't believe I'm so clumsy! I should have been looking properly when I was tying your charm around your hand!" Marinette's voice went a few octaves higher. 

"Ugh, desperate much, Dupain Cheng?" Chloe rolled her eyes. 

"Chloe, it was an accident. I'm sure Marinette did not mean to tie herself to Adrien." Miss Bustier said. 

"Wait, that's what happened???" Alya let out a sputter of laughter. "Girl, what?" 

"That is SICK!" Alix laughed, clutching her belly. 

Then the entire class got wind of what was going on, and everyone burst into laughter, including Marinette and Adrien, though they exchanged secretive winks. 

Chloe just rolled her eyes and said, "I'm surrounded by idiots."

Lila was seething.

Even Miss Bustier was chuckling to herself.

"I swear things like these ONLY happen to you, Marinette." Alya wiped a tear away from her eye.

"I'm really sorry about this, Miss Bustier. I'll try to fix it properly." Marinette said. 

"That is alright, Marinette. These things happen to the best of us." 

"I can help you." Adrien offered as he got up. "I'm not as good as you when it comes to untangling knots but I can try." 

Lila's stomach clenched at how Adrien was basically fawning over Marinette.

"Well, now." Miss Bustier warned. "I'd rather you two not be untangling knots in my class and wasting time. You can do it during break or after. As much as I think this is funny, I don't want this to happen another time." She crossed her arms. "Is that clear, Marinette?" 

"Yes, Miss Bustier." She said apologetically. 

"Hey, but Lila still can have the front row." Alya pointed out. "You two can come to the second row together and Lila and I can have the first one." 

Miss Bustier glanced at Marinette and Adrien. 

"That will be fine with us. We really don't want to inconvenience Lila." Marinette said sweetly. 

"Of course. Thank you, Marinette." Lila said through gritted teeth.

After the switch happened, Alix called from the opposite bench. "Hey, Kim has something I dared him to ask the conjoined twins here." 

The class laughed again. 

"Dudes, how are you going to go to the bathroom?" 

The entire room stilled. 

Adrien went redder than a fire truck. 

Marinette shot a deadly glare at both Alix and Kim. "Some questions just shouldn't be asked Kim." 

Strong, burly Kim deflated under Marinette's glare. 

Tiny Alix wasn't pertrubed though. "Alright, lay off the water bottles then." 

The jovial mood returned as everyone laughed at her statement.

Lila gasped from her new temporary seat in the front. 

"Instead of bothering to untie the knot, you two could always cut it using scissors." Lila said, smiling at the two of them with a wicked gleam in her eye. 

"NO!" Both Marinette and Adrien said at the same time, horrified. 

"Alright, what now?" Miss Bustier said, exasperated. 

Adrien cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, Lila, but we'd rather not damage these bracelets." He said quietly. "They mean a lot to Marinette and I." 

His tone was polite, but Marinette could detect an edge of a warning in it. 

"You could always make them again."  
She pointed out. 

"Marinette worked really hard on the one she gave me." He touched his green and pink one. "I'd rather not ruin it in any way." 

Marinette added. "Adrien gave me mine as my birthday present last year. It'd be rude to damage a gift my friend gave me." 

Lila's fists fought from clenching in front of Alya. Now these goody two shoes were working together?! 

"I didn't mean to impose. I'm sure it'll be fixed soon." Lila gave them a strained smile.  
\-----------  
It never did end up getting fixed. 

Adrien ended up taking notes for both of them that day, since Marinette couldn't use her dominant hand. 

Miss Mendelieev was furious with them, but she was furious with everyone, so it wasn't a big deal. 

Adrien ended up feeding Marinette her lunch and it ended with both of them being flustered, apologizing messes.  
(Alya had mysteriously disappeared to video call Nino) 

They inched away efficiently from Lila's offers of 'help', stating that their lucky charms held a sentimental value to them. 

Literally everyone made fun of them, but they took it in good stride, eventually making jokes about themselves too. 

Marinette didn't know there were so many puns about locks and thread until that day.

(And no, neither of them definitely minded their hands brushing against each other everytime they moved. Adrien never realised how small Marinette's hands were compared to his.) 

School was finally over and Marinette and Adrien sat down in front of the school on the steps and she began actually working at the knots she'd tied. 

"I didn't tie it too tightly, did I? I was in a hurry and-" 

"Marinette." Adrien placed his good hand on her wobbling knee. "I'm fine. You didn't hurt me. And you're shaking." 

"Ha ha ha ha no no no, it's just something that I do when I'm focused!!!" Marinette let out a loud fake laugh, trying to focus on getting the knot out and not that his hand was on her knee and their shoulders were touching and she WAS HOLDING HIS HAND AND-

"Hey you two." Alya said, coming down the stairs. "You're KNOT in trouble, are you?" 

"Good one, Alya!" Adrien raised a hand to high five her as Marinette groaned. 

"So, now that we're alone...." She waggled her eyebrows. "You two did that on purpose, didn't you?" 

Both of them froze. 

"Whaaaaaattt?" Marinette said at the same time Adrien said, "No way!" 

"Girl, I've seen you untangle larger balls of knotted yarn." Alya shook her head. "This shouldn't have been a problem for you." 

"Nuh uh, I don't know what you're talking about." Marinette said firmly. 

"Yeah, Alya, what ARE you talking about?" Adrien said in a voice too innocent even for him. 

"Alright, I'll let this slide." Alya sighed lovingly at her friends. "Hope you get the knots out. I gotta go see Nino. Ciao, lovebirds!" 

"Buh?" Adrien said at the same time Marinette said, "ALYA!" 

She only laughed and walked away.

A few minutes later, Marinette got the knot out. "Here. Good as new." 

"Thanks, Marinette!" Adrien said as she tied it to his wrist properly. 

"For everything, really." He added, admiring the new snake charm. "I just feel bad that you couldn't take any notes today because of me."

"No problem, and this was my idea after all." She said. "Besides, it's Friday today. I'll have the weekend to finish everything." 

"I can send you everything you need over the phone." He said, and she nodded gratefully. 

"I just hope that Lila really does concede to getting her contacts on Monday or that Nino comes back. I mean, I know he's sick and I feel bad for even saying this but it's not like we can pull this off again." 

"Sure we can. I'll just max out my credit card to buy the biggest vat of superglue there is." Adrien said seriously. 

Marinette laughed loudly, and Adrien felt elated at how he was the one who made her laugh like that.

"Well, whatever Lila pulls, I'm glad I'm not in it alone." Marinette said. "Thanks for being there with me."

"Same here. She's not that hard to deal with when you have someone to bear it by your side." Adrien agreed, his expression souring. 

His car rounded the corner and stopped in front of the school. 

"Oops." Adrien said, standing up. "Gotta leave, I guess." 

He gave her his hand and she took it, holding on to his firm grip as she got up. 

They were holding hands the entire day so much, that their hands slid into each other's out of habit as Marinette walked Adrien to his car.

"Looks like my lucky charm really did save me today." Adrien said, his smile directed at Marinette never wavering as he opened the car door. 

"Pshh, yeah." Marinette said, noticing how close Adrien had gotten to her. "Those bracelets really are something, huh?" 

"Wasn't talking about the bracelets, Marinette." He winked at her, getting into the car. 

"See you on Monday!" He closed the car door, laughing through the window at her dumbstruck expression.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look at these two morons. How can you help but not love them?


	11. Day 11: Video Games

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien and Marinette take each other's successes and losses together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warning: Bullying and mentions of physical harm.  
> (In fact, I think I'm changing the rating to a T now, to be safe)

"Super triple jump combo!" Marinette said to herself as she entered in the key combination. 

"No!! Not again!!" Adrien wailed. 

"Yes! I win! Hahaha!" Marinette cheered, throwing her controller up in the air and catching it again in a perfect arc. 

"How do you do that?? I've been losing the exact same way the past 5 times!" Adrien exclaimed. 

"You must be getting really tired of it." She teased. 

Adrien glared at her as he bit into one of the cookies in their plate with gusto. 

"Oh alright, one more game?" Marinette conceded. 

"Fine. But this time you're going down." 

"We'll see." 

Adrien won that game by saving up his life for the special attack. 

"Yes! I knew that would pay off!" Adrien cheered as he spun around once in her rolling chair. 

"Whatever." Marinette scoffed. "It's only one game. I've never lost twice in the same row." 

She proved herself right the next game.

"You are too good at this. And I used to be at the top of the leaderboard against my computer for months!" 

"Oh, so you had friends who are gamers?" Marinette asked. She didn't know much about Adrien's life before he came to school last year. 

"I obviously never met them in person, but yeah. I knew them over multiplayer games. I kind of used to stay up at night to match up with their time zones and play all night." 

"Adrien!" Marinette gasped. "Not that that isn't cool, because it totally is, but didn't you get caught?" 

"Nope. Nobody hears what I do even if I was using my room as base for making dynamite." And it also made being a superhero easy, he thought privately.

Marinette laughed, but the phrasing of his sentence, like the adults in his house simply checking up on him just to see how he was doing was not a common occurrence stirred her. 

"Anyway," he continued, swallowing a bit of the cookies her mother had made for them. "I only had contact with them until Ultimate Mecha Strike 3 came out. By that time, I joined school and met gamers like Max, Nino and Kim, and you, of course, whom I actually know in real life. My connection to the online ones just... drifted away, I guess. I wonder how they're doing." He leaned back against his chair thoughtfully. 

"Did you know any of them in real life?" Marinette asked tentatively. 

"No...I know that two of them lived in Paris, though. I couldn't exactly visit them. Anyway, can you imagine how that conversation with my dad would go? 'Hey Dad, I wanna go meet a stranger I met on the internet!' As if. I'd be grounded for life." 

"I guess he must have begun to see reason if he let you out of the house to come here now." She reasoned. 

"Marinette, I lied to him, remember? I told him that I was working on a project with you. It took a lot of persuading, but here I am now!" 

Adrien was smiling widely at her, but Marinette had gotten better at reading him now.   
She recognised this behaviour from someone else she knew well. 

Chat Noir never told her much about his personal life, as per the norm, but she gathered enough to know he didn't come from a happy home. Whenever he was extremely happy and chipper to the extent of a sugar crash, Marinette took that to understand he was having a bad day. 

She never pushed him talk. She couldn't even if she wanted to. All it took was one misstep and everything both of them had worked for could be ruined. 

She didn't have to do that with Adrien, did she? Adrien didn't know she was a superhero. She didn't have to hold back for him. 

"So, what's your experience? How did you get into gaming?" He directed the question towards her. 

He reminded her so much of Chat.   
He was just as goofy and silly as him, she was learning to know.   
And he was just as guarded and careful as he was when it came to things he did not want to talk about. 

She took his bait for now.   
"I've been playing since I was 12. The first edition of this game was the first game I ever got into." She confessed. "My dad and I got super into it, so much that we could even convince my stricter mom sometimes to play with us. He really is excited about getting someone else he can play with, by the way. " She added. 

Her father was working a shift at the bakery that was ending soon, and he promised to play a match with the kids once he was done. 

"I bet you won all the gaming tournaments in collége." Adrien said with awe. "Seriously, your skills are outstanding." 

"Oh, um..." Marinette deflated. "Thanks Adrien...but the tournament that I practiced for with you? That was my first tournament in 3 years." She confessed. 

"Wait...what?" Adrien set his controller down and turned to face her, giving her his full attention. 

"I participated in one at the beginning of collége, but..." Marinette hesitated. No one knew this story. She didn't even tell Alya. 

"Marinette you don't have to tell me if you don't want to." Adrien reassured her. "It seems like a touchy subject for you." 

He was right. It was hard for her to talk about it. Which is why she never did, especially after making so many friends at the beginning of the year, standing up to Chloe, and meeting Alya and Adrien, and becoming Ladybug. 

Still, Adrien was looking at her with those kind eyes that held only concern and empathy, not pity. 

If Adrien ever wanted to talk about what was bothering him, she needed to show him that she was indeed comfortable doing the same with him. 

Not just for him, for herself too. Being vulnerable wasn't weakness, and it took her a long time to realise that. 

"It was at the beginning of collége. Three years ago, almost four actually." She put both her legs to the side of her chair, making full eye contact with him. 

Adrien nodded, then paused with a start. "Wait...does Chloe have something to do with what was bothering you?" 

"Surprisingly no." She snorted. "She did make my life miserable, but she wasn't involved this time." 

Adrien shrunk away a little at hearing what Chloe did, but he motioned for her to continue. 

"Max didn't join François DuPont until 5éme, so I didn't have him for company then. I knew Nino and Kim for a really long time, but we never really became close until this year. Not to mention how insecure I was about being a girl who plays video games." 

Adrien opened his mouth to let out an outraged retort, but she stopped him. "I know, Adrien. I know that girls can do whatever they want now. But I wasn't like that then. I used to be really shy, I never had many friends, only acquaintances who had friends they were closer to than me. I couldn't even stand up for myself." 

Adrien furrowed his brows. The very idea of a shy, weak-willed Marinette was akin to imagining Chloe in a soup kitchen. It just didn't seem possible at all. 

But then again, that was what made the strong, confident and kind Marinette he was lucky enough to know today. 

"When they announced the annual gaming tournament that year, I was so excited to participate. It had only one spot because UMS 1 didn't feature multiplaying. I practiced day and night with my dad every day until I was prepared for anything. I tried out and-" 

"-you were the finalist?" Adrien finished for her. 

Marinette's jaw dropped for a second before saying, "Yeah. I was." 

"Didn't doubt it for a second." Adrien said confidently and Marinette's cheeks bloomed with a blush. 

"I beat out several gamers, and some of them were graceful enough to congratulate me. But turns out, I had beaten out the president of the gaming club of collége. She was furious." 

Adrien wisely kept his mouth shut about his wide assumption that the president was a boy. 

"She pulled me aside in the girls' restroom and threatened me to withdraw from the tournament." Marinette turned away from him, her hands shaking.   
That was why Lila's threat in such a similiar fashion had bothered her so much. It brought back painful memories. 

Adrien rolled his chair closer to her placed a tentative hand on her back, right over her spine. "What did she do? She didn't hurt you, did she?" 

"No," Marinette sighed. "But from how aggressive she was verbally, if I hadn't given in, it might as well have been." She said without thinking, before realising how disgusted Adrien looked. 

That was it. He was going to think she was a coward for giving in and never want to come over for-

"That's revolting." He said, scowling deeply. "What makes people think they can act like that?! You got in fair and square! How did she even become president with that attitude? What did she say to you??" 

"She told me that if I went into the tournament, she would ban me from entering the gaming club, and thus, I wouldn't be able to participate in anything else even if I wanted to." 

"So that was her solution?? Eliminate you out of the game so she could stay on top? That's so cowardly!" Adrien growled. 

Marinette's eyes widened at how angry he was at her expense.   
Would he have reacted the same way if she had told him about Lila that day...?

No, what was done was done. She didn't want to worsen her mood and make him even more angry. 

"Who is she? Do we know her? Is she in our year?" 

"No, she was in our year back then." She said. "She must be a high school senior now, if I'm not wrong. But still, Adrien, it doesn't really matter-"

"I wish I knew you then." Adrien said fiercely. "I would have never let this happen to you." He flinched slightly before adding, "Or any of my friends." 

Marinette smiled weakly at him. "You could have gotten expelled for storming into the girls' bathroom." 

Adrien scoffed. "I would have dueled that bully for the spot of the gaming club president so that I could give you the spot you rightfully deserved. And then, I would have stepped down and given the presidency to you too, because there's no one more deserving."

Marinette's stupid, romantic heart chose to thump loudly at his wild notion of a duel for her. 

He would have dueled for me. He would have dueled for me. He would have dueled for me. 

"Ehm, well, I won't say completely deserving, I mean Max is a good candidate too." She babbled nervously. "Besides I would have been busy with my million other commissions and fashion and being class rep and ANYWAY what I'm trying to say is," she caught her breath before she loudly admitted that she was hopelessly in love with him too. "I'm so glad you're my friend, Adrien. I really can't believe you would do that for me." 

That last part came out softer than she intended it to.

"Marinette." He said it like it was obvious. "Of course I would." He didn't miss a beat. 

She wrapped her arms around his neck tightly in a burst of emotion.

Thankfully, he wasn't creeped out and he reciprocated the hug almost as quickly. 

They stayed that way for a while, holding each other. 

'One day.' Marinette vowed. One day, when the time was right, she was going to tell him the entire story about Lila. 

When he pulled away from the hug, he asked her, "So what changed your mind? What made you choose to go for the tournament last year?" 

Marinette stilled. She couldn't tell him the real reason. The real reason was that she had such a crazy crush on him that she had jumped at the chance without even thinking about it. 

Another reason came to mind. It wasn't as dominant, but it was still true. 

"I guess, a lot of things changed that year. I changed a lot so, why not give this another chance? And not just that, neither you or Max are bullies so even if I lost, I was safe. Mostly." She added, remembering he turned into Gamer a few hours later.

"I guess I didn't realise until I was there that I used to have so much fun participating in it. I'm glad I took that chance." 

"That was so brave of you, Marinette." Adrien confessed. "You are so strong for standing up to your fears like that." 

Sure, he was trying to campaign for his freedom too, but he wasn't as successful as her. 

Still, Adrien didn't want to call himself a coward in front of Marinette. She would immediately disagree, and he also didn't want to make this about him. 

"Hey," Adrien said. "Why don't we stop the competition for a while and play the main levels together instead?" 

"I would love to." Marinette said, the mood lightening as she realised he was trying to cheer her up. "It does seem like you are getting tired of losing to me though." She winked at him as she navigated back to the main menu. 

"No way. I'd much rather focus on finishing the game rather than play the same minigame over and over again."   
Adrien said with an air of impish innocence.

"You'll say anything to convince me you don't want to lose. Try harder than that." Marinette said. 

"I would say that I would rather play with you than play against you, but I don't want to scare you off." He muttered. 

Marinette's joystick would have broken into two from hitting the floor if Adrien hadn't caught it in time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Speaking as someone who got bullied for being good at the things she was good at - own your talents, own your passions, and never ever let someone take that away what makes you, you.


	12. Day 12: Piano lessons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette gets a tiny lesson in music and Adrien gets a new memory he actually wants to revisit.

"So this is the art room?" Adrien looked around, his eyes wide with wonder. 

Immediately, he wished he had about 10 more eyes because they was so much to see. 

Juleka and Rose were sitting in a corner, and he assumed that they were working on new songs for Kitty Section. 

The soft strums of Juleka's guitar superimposed with the sounds from Alix's spray can against her huge canvas. 

Nathaniel and Marc were hunched over their drawings and notes. 

"Yep!" Marinette stood next to him proudly, her hands on her hips. "Do you like it?" 

"Marinette, this is...this is incredible!" Adrien said, a grin breaking out. 

Marinette smiled to herself. She had noticed that Adrien was moody all day, and after school, he had admitted to her that he wouldn't go back home for another hour and a half atleast. 

His fencing lesson had been unexpectedly canceled, and he hadn't known until he came to school. Like a predator pouncing on its prey, Adrien had nabbed the opportunity to stay away from his house. At least for a little while. 

And Marinette had noticed, like the empathetic person she was. She brought him here to cheer him up, hopefully. 

It had worked. 

"But...um..." He hesitated. 

Before Marinette could ask what was wrong, the art teacher strode up to them with a welcoming, kind smile.

"Ah, Marinette, I see you've brought someone new." 

"Adrien!" Alix waved from her place. "My man! Didn't expect to see you here!" 

That alerted the attention of everyone else in the room. 

Choruses of "Hi, Adrien!" echoed across the room. 

Adrien greeted them back, although his nervousness didn't subside. 

"So you are Adrien. We've heard of you a lot." The art teacher said. "My name is Monsieur Dubois. Welcome to the art room." 

"Thank you!" Adrien said, missing Marinette's unexpectedly embarrassed face. 

"I thought he would like to see what this place was like, Monsieur." Marinette said. 

"You've heard of me?" Adrien blurted out before realising how rude that must have sounded. "Sorry, I didn't mean to-" 

"Heard of you?" Alix laughed from behind them. "Marinette never shuts up about you!" 

Adrien turned just in time to see Marinette making an angry cutting gesture with her hands. 

"You don't?" Adrien said out loud, before shutting up as he realised how awkward he sounded. 

"No, she definitely does not." Marc added from his table as Nate laughed. 

Thankfully Juleka and Rose had headphones and couldn't contribute to Marinette's embarrassment. 

"THEY MEAN THAT-" Marinette shrieked before calming down. "They mean that I was talking about bringing you here for the past few days because I thought you would enjoy it!" 

"Thanks, Marinette." His eyes softened considerably. "I will definitely enjoy unwinding here, Monsieur Dubois, this all seems very relaxing, but..." 

"But what?" Marinette asked encouragingly. 

"I'm not exactly an artist." Adrien said. "Marinette here-" he nudged her. "She's the creative, amazing one." 

Her pink sewing machine had been the first thing to catch his eye when he entered the room. "I just really don't want to be a hinderance to anyone here-" 

"Nonsense, Adrien. You are never interuppting anyone here. Now tell me, what are the things you are good at?" 

"He's so good at tons of things, it's not even funny!" Marinette jumped to answer, her hands moving around in emphasis. 

"Sure, Marinette, but none of those things are exactly art." Adrien countered. "Now designing-" 

"We're not talking about me." She shut him up. "Fencing isn't an art? Learning a language isn't an art? Playing piano isn't an art??" 

"Well, when you put it that way...." 

Marinette turned to the teacher exasperatedly. "He is not good at accepting compliments, that's for sure." 

"Hey pot. I'm kettle." He retorted playfully. 

"Adrien, you play piano?" Monsieur Dubois asked.

"Yes-" 

"Well that's perfect! We have a piano right there!" He pointed to a baby grand piano that looked tiny compared to the huge one he had back at home. 

"Woah.." Adrien said as he walked over to it, Marinette and Monsieur Dubois following him. "This definitely looks less intimidating than the one I have at home, that's for sure." 

"So? Have we convinced you?" Marinette asked, squirming with excitement. 

He looked from her to the teacher to Nathaniel and Marc's encouraging faces. 

"Yes, you absolutely have."

\----------------  
"Are you sure they aren't dating?" Marc asked Alix sceptically, as they watched Nathaniel, Adrien and Marinette joke around at the piano. 

Alix raised an eyebrow. "Welcome to my world. Maddening, isn't it?" 

\-----------------  
Adrien got along famously with everyone. He listened to Nath and Marc's ideas with intrest, took Alix's teasing in stride and played along with Juleka and Rose while composing new music. 

Marinette was glad she brought him here. He was looking much better already. 

She didn't know what happened, but she knew it had something to do with his dad. 

"Ow." She said quietly when she realised she had poked herself with her needle. 

Quickly sucking her finger, she looked up to see if anyone had noticed. 

"Where is everybody?" Marinette asked out loud. 

That was when she realised that she sounds of Adrien's piano were the only sounds in the room. 

"You said bye to them, Marinette." He laughed from his seat. "Don't you remember?" 

"I did?" She scrunched up her face, trying to remember. 

She vaguely remembered waving to some people without looking up. 

"Wow, I guess I've been really distracted." She said. 

"Focused, you mean." Adrien corrected, turning around in the bench. 

"Tomato, Tomah-to." She said, putting down her stuff for a while. 

"Oh, are you leaving?" Adrien asked, a twinge of disappointment in his voice. 

"No, I'm not. We still have about half an hour till school closes and your bodyguard arrives." Marinette said. "I'm just taking a break." 

"Oh. Join me, then." Adrien patted the space next to him. 

Marinette did, and stared at the 88 keys. "I really don't understand how you musicians do it." 

"Do what?" 

"Remember stuff like chords and notes!" Marinette exclaimed. "Luka taught me three chords in the guitar and I managed to forget them all the next day!" 

Adrien's smile faltered a little. "There's no problem then. Luka is a great teacher. He could always teach them to you again." 

"He did! Several times, and I still don't remember. I'm hopeless." 

Adrien watched Marinette's eyes light up at the mention of Luka. 

"Maybe you could try out the piano?" He gestured, ignoring that queasy feeling in his stomach gnawing away at him. 

"No thanks, I'll save you the trouble." She deadpanned. 

"Come on, you haven't even tried it yet!" He said, remembering how she was all up for guitar lessons with Luka. 

"I'll probably be horrible at it, Adrien." 

"You horrible at anything? Try a different joke Marinette, cause that isn't funny at all." 

When she still continued to pout, he sighed and took her hand. 

"What are you doing?" She asked, and he placed her index finger on the middle most key of the piano.

"That note is middle C." He explained. 

"Oh." Marinette said.

"Then the next key," he guided her hand to the next one. "Is D." 

"Then it is E F G A B, and then C again, only this C is higher than the first C." He guided her hand smoothly as she listened to the notes. 

"So....C, E," 

"D." Adrien corrected. 

"C, D, E,F, G, A, B, C?" She asked uncertainly. 

"Yes, you're right!" He commended. "Those are the main 8 notes you'll find everywhere on a piano, except that the pitch is different." 

"Are these the same on other instruments too?" 

"On a guitar? I guess so." Adrien shrugged. "Not sure about other instruments."

"Now, let me show you a few simple chords..." Adrien said. "They should be a little similar to the guitar ones, so don't worry, you're covered." 

\---------  
15 minutes later, Marinette now knew three piano chords. 

"Yay! I know something!" She cheered. 

"Good job!" Adrien said happily. "You're a natural at this." 

"Oh come on, you're just a really good teacher." She waved it off. 

It struck him how him and Marinette were so similar.  
Over the weekend, he had purposefully suggested that they play video games together as a team instead of opponents so that he could give her a small boost.   
Now she had brought him here, the very place she often talked about as her comfort zone, just to cheer him up. 

And neither of them could accept compliments that easily because that was how damaged their self esteem issues were. 

Should he tell her what happened at home that morning? 

"Adrien, I would love to hear you play something." She suddenly said. "We have about 10 minutes to kill." 

Not when she was in such a good mood. The last thing he wanted to was to ruin it.

"Of course." He said, and he first almost chose one of the more well known classical pieces his father always forced him to play. 

Instead his hands played that one song he told himself he would never play. Not since that awful day one year ago. 

His fingers glided over the keys, and he couldn't stop. He had already done this so many times. He would begin playing that song and stop when the memories would become too much.

Plagg would finally give up on trying to convince him, he'd choose the song he was supposed to practice and he'd move on. 

His fingers faltered over the keys for a second, cringing at how haphazardly the tune was coming out. 

He turned to Marinette with the full intention of telling her that he was going to choose a different song, but her serene expression, her closed eyes, her relaxed posture got to him. 

If he stopped playing, he wouldn't get to look at her chaotic, active self being as relaxed as she was now. 

And she looked so beautiful when she was listening to music. 

That was enough motivation for him to continue the song. 

He wasn't even looking at the piano, but his hands found the proper keys of their own accord. She was swaying along to the music, and at one point he even heard her hum the tune once she got the hang of it. 

He finished the piece. Wasn't he about to do some wildly over the top finishing note or something? He couldn't remember. Those details were lost in his head. 

"That was so beautiful, Adrien!" Marinette gushed. 

"Heh," he wrecked his brain for a cheesy, lame joke, like a racoon trying to get food out of a dumpster to lighten the mood and not look like he was looking at her and noticing how he saw his mother's smile in hers while he was playing her song. 

"Think you'll be able to play that one day under my guidance?" He said lamely. 

"Pshh, maybe. I'll be praying so hard that I shouldn't fall off the bench instead." 

"How do you fall off a bench??" Adrien asked, then immediately said, "No, don't answer that. You're Marinette Dupain Cheng." 

"Exactly." She said, then both of them flinched when the bell rang. "We should leave. Can you give me a few minutes? I just need to grab my stuff." 

"Of course." He said, and patiently waited while she hurriedly shoved all her stuff inside her bag. 

"Ready to go?" She asked, only to be tackled by him in a huge bear hug. 

"Adrien?" She laughed when that only made him pick her up and spin her around once. "Not that I am complaining, but what's up?" 

"Thank you for bringing me here." He mumbled. "I know I wasn't exactly great company today, and I'm sorry if I hurt anyone." 

"Oh Adrien, it's no problem. We all have our bad days." She said, wrapping her arms around his torso. "I'm glad I could help." 

And help she did. Now he had a new memory to associate that song with. And Marinette's reactions to him playing was enough motivation for him to go on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is so bad you guys, I was so uninspired today.


	13. Day 13: Scarf Reveal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Subconsciously, some part of him always knew the truth about his favourite scarf.

"These clothes are really tacky." Plagg commented, zipping out of Adrien's pocket the minute the makeup artists left.

"You say that about anything that is not edible, Plagg." Adrien said to his kwami as said creature landed on his shoulder.

"How long is this shoot going to go on?" He whined. "I want my cheese."

"Believe me, even I'm exhausted. I came here directly from school."

When Plagg still sulked, Adrien gave his kwami an affectionate tap on his tiny head. "Don't worry. Only an hour left."

"That is 60 minutes! That's too long!" Plagg grumped.

"Oh, Adrien!" Guiseppe's voice came from outside his tent.

Plagg zoomed into Adrien's pocket just as his photographer walked in.  
"Are you ready?, time's a-wasting!"

"Oh, yes I am." Adrien said, brushing off imaginary dust in his all black ensemble. "We can continue the-"

A resounding crash echoed around them.

"Hold on." Guiseppe held up a hand in alarm.

Adrien's reflexes kicked in. Was there an Akuma?

"We have a problem." Lola, one of the assistants peeked inside the tent.

Adrien frowned. Why was she simply agitated and not terrified if it was an akuma?

"Did someone get akumatised?" Adrien asked.

Lola laughed. "Last time I checked, no. But..." She winced. "Your camera accidentally toppled off its tripod and-"

"NO! Not the camera!! This is a disaster! Un disastro!" Guiseppe wailed as he shoved past her and ran outside.

Adrien groaned. "Please don't tell me we'll have to do all this again."

"The shots we got until now are still intact. But I'm afraid we can't continue until his precious camera is fixed." She rolled her eyes. "For someone who adores his camera, he's pretty careless. He didn't even fix the camera on the tripod properly."

Adrien shrugged, even though his body was heavy with relief. "That's Guiseppe for you. So I'm free to go now, right?"

"I don't possess that happy power, but I suggest walking away before he takes out his temper tantrum on you." Lola said seriously.

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind."

She nodded and left, leaving Adrien free enough to change back into his normal clothes while hearing Plagg's grumbles and cheers.

"Yes, finally. You better compensate me with two wheels of cheese for the sacrifices I'm making."

"Stop being a baby, will you?" Adrien said crossly, pulling on his black shirt. "We'll be home soon and you can eat all the cheese you want."

He pulled on his overshirt and wrapped his blue scarf around his neck.

"I still don't know why you are wearing that scarf. Summer is right around the corner." Plagg said judgementally.

"Hey, I like this scarf." Adrien said indignantly. "It's one of the only decent presents my dad got me."

"And how did that go this morning?" Plagg said.

Adrien looked away from Plagg, busying himself with placing his ensemble in a decently made pile so that it could be put away.

He had tried wearing the scarf that morning for school, hoping to gauge a reaction from his father. Neither of them were talking to each other beyond his dad spouting orders and him nodding to all of them as usual.

"He hadn't even noticed." He mumbled. "Shouldn't your son wearing your present because he loves it so much make a father happy? But no. 'My reputation as a designer relies on your performance in this shoot, Adrien. Do not make a mess out of this.'"

"Why can't he ever listen to me Plagg?" Adrien turned to face his worried Kwami. "Or is he right? Should I know my place? Does whatever I have to say really not matter compared to what he thinks?"

"Kid, I'm sorry, but don't talk about yourself like that." Plagg said fiercely. "Of course your feelings matter. Your dad is nothing but a huge stick in the mud."

"Not like I can do anything about it." Adrien said, pulling off the scarf. "You're right, maybe I shouldn't be wearing this now."

"Adrien, you can't keep diverting the topic. You have to talk about it to someone." Plagg said. "I am destruction itself, so believe me when I say that if you don't lean on the people who want to support you, you will fall apart."

"I am talking about it with you, aren't I?" Adrien smiled sadly. "It's okay, Plagg. That's just the way he is."

"You can't go on making excuses for him." Plagg said grumpily.

"He's still my dad, you know. And he loved mom, he still loves mom. I think I just misunderstood what happened between him and Natalie. I thought that if he was happy with her, I would definitely be happy for him too. It's hard for me to say it, but mom isn't here anymore. And I'm beginning to accept that she never will be. My dad on the other hand...he needs more time. Outbursts like the one that happened yesterday are normal. He's still grieving."

Plagg narrowed his eyes at Adrien. "He doesn't deserve you." He mumbled. "I can think of a million other people in your place who wouldn't act like you did."

"Aww, thanks Plagg." Adrien grinned. "You do care."

"Pff, whatever, can we go now?" Plagg rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, let me just put my scarf back in my bag." He knelt down to unzip it.

He folded it carefully and was about to put it in, when he felt something rough under his thumb.

Adrien frowned.

"What is it?" Plagg asked.

"I think I felt something - did I spill anything on it and just not notice?" Adrien said, unfolding it.

"Oh come on, kid." Plagg grumped. "Obviously not. You take such annoyingly good care of the scarf you actually-" he stopped when he saw that Adrien's face had gone ashen.

"Adrien?" Plagg asked. "Adrien, what happened?"

"Look." He said, his eyes never wavering from the scarf.

Plagg followed his line of sight, and saw what exactly had made Adrien stop functioning.

The name Marinette had been stitched into the hemming.

It was so tiny, so miniscule, one couldn't blame Adrien for missing it for over a year.

"Wait, so what does this mean?" Plagg asked. "Look, don't go and do something stupid like-"

Adrien zipped his bag, stuffed his kwami (while he was still talking) into his shirt, took the scarf and ran outside, not stopping till he reached the Dupain Cheng bakery.

He only paused to hurriedly tell the Gorilla he had to visit Marinette for a quick minute.

\------------

“Marinette?” Mrs. Cheng climbed up the step ladder, leaving Adrien standing behind her shyly at the stairs.

His heart was pounding. He knew it. On some deeper level, he knew the scarf wasn’t from his father. He almost never checked up on him, but to go as far as to get him what was clearly a ‘handmade’ scarf and not even ask him if he liked it? Or even if it didn’t clash with his skin tone or some dumb reason? He didn’t even recognise the scarf when he wore it in the morning. It all made sense now.

But if Marinette made it....why didn’t she tell him? She clearly worked hard on it. He had been around enough fabric and designers to tell that her handiwork was impeccable.

“Adrien is here?” He heard Marinette say.

“You aren’t busy, are you?” Her mother asked and he became even more terrified. If he didn’t tell her now he would burst.

“No, mom, tell him to come on up.” He heard her say and he sighed in relief. He had to tell her, he had to admit how stupid he had been to not see what was right in front of him since the beginning.

“You can go up, Adrien.” Mrs. Cheng climbed down the ladder. “Can I bring you something to eat?” She asked him kindly.

“No, thank you, Mrs. Cheng. I would love that, but I can’t stay for long. I only came by to ask Marinette something.” He said politely.

“Oh. Alright then, go ahead. And please, call me Sabine.” She patted his cheek affectionately.

“Thank you, Mrs.- uh, I mean Sabine.” Adrien said.

Once she left, Adrien scrambled up the ladder.

“Hey, Adrien!” She waved, from her chair. “What’s up?”

“Uh, hey.” He said.

“Is everything okay?” She asked. “You look really pale.”

He came bursting in here to tell her the truth. And now he was here. And now he had no idea where to even begin.

On some level, he wanted to shrink up and hide within himself for coming here for this particular reason.

“I have something to tell you.” He said, gathering his remanant courage. He couldn’t let his embarrassment stop him from doing what he had to do.

“Okay?” Marinette said. “Just give me a minute, I’ll turn all of this off. Take a seat.”

Taking a seat sounded like an incredible idea. His legs were turning into jelly.

The minute he heard the purr of the sewing machine stop, he blurted out. “I know about the scarf you made.”

Marinette spun around to face him. “What?” her face had gone white.

He pulled out the scarf from his shirt pocket. “This one.” He said. “You made it, didn’t you? I saw your signature.”

“Adrien...” she sighed. To his surprise, she didn’t look angry that it took so long for him to realise. She didn’t look upset that he didn’t realise it.

“I never wanted you to find out like this.” She rubbed one of her arms.

She looked more upset that he did realise the truth.

“So you did make this for me?” Adrien said, cradling it in his hands as he got up.

“Yeah, it was your birthday present last year.” She said. “I don’t know what happened, but I’m guessing there was a mix up at your house because I did deliver it to your mail box-“ she cut herself off when she saw his expression become more anguished. “It’s okay, though! You still got the scarf! No harm done!”

“No harm done?” He echoed. ‘All this time I’ve been thinking it was from my dad! I didn’t know it was from you! I wish I knew! Marinette, I am so sorry I didn’t realise sooner. All this time I’ve been letting my dad take credit for your hard work.” He blinked, tears pooling in his eyes. He was a terrible, terrible person.

“Adrien, stop!” Marinette cried out. “This isn’t your fault. None of this is.”

“I- why didn’t you tell me it was from you?” He asked.

“I...saw the look on your face when you thought the scarf was from your dad.” She admitted. “You looked so happy. I didn’t want to ruin it for you by saying it was from me. And besides, you actually got the scarf. And you liked it. That was my only goal.”

If Adrien didn’t know he had to get a grip on himself, he would have burst into tears of happiness. Anyone in Marinette’s place would have hastened to take credit for their work. She just wanted him to be happy. 

“Can I get a hug, please? If you’re not opposed to it, that is.” He didn’t even finish the sentence. Marinette was already winding her arms around his torso and laying her head on his shoulder. His arms went around her. This was his third hug from Marinette in three days. Yeah, he was keeping count. One tends to do that when one usually receives physical affection once in six months.

“Don’t ever ask for a hug, okay? You don’t have to ask one from me.” She murmured into his shoulder. “I’m always down for them.”

“Marinette, I-“ He choked up a little, then finally took a deep breath, taking full advantage of their height difference and resting his cheek on her head. She smelled like home and warmth, two very foreign scents to him. “This scarf means a lot more to me now that I know what you did for me. You’re gonna watch me wear it everywhere I go.”

She giggled, still not letting go of him. “It’s summer.”

“Don’t care.”

A moment later, he heard her ask, “Are you okay?”

“Not really.” He admitted. “But I will be. This all just came hitting me so fast.”

“I’m not angry, I know you think I am.” She pulled away, but she didn’t let go of him. “But I’m not. I’m not angry you realised it, and I wouldn’t have been angry even if you didn’t.”

He loved her.

For all the times Plagg either teasingly called her his girlfriend or would yell at him to realise it already, or Ladybug smiling to herself whenever he would talk about how amazing the girl in his class was, or Alya nicking his forehead or Nino telling him that he was hopeless, the realisation came pretty quickly.

He loved her.

He loved Marinette.

He loved MARINETTE?!

“Thank you, for what you did, I can’t imagine anyone – no one has ever done something so amazing for me all my life.” He said. It wasn’t what he meant to say, but he meant it all the same.

“Don’t mention it.”

His brain was muddled with the single word, ‘Marinette, Marinette, Marinette, Marinette,’ that he couldn’t even think of reasons to think of why and how he came up with the conclusion in the first place.

For now he leaned forward and pressed his lips to her forehead. “Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you,” he muttered repeatedly against her skin as her eyes closed against his touch.

He could think of reasons later. He could save up time to tell himself that this was a bad idea, and that their friendship always came first later.

For once, instead of trying to fling them away into a deep dark corner of his mind he let his feelings wash over him and take over completely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this while listening to and crying over One Direction.


	14. Day 14: Movie Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What's popular isn't always necessarily the best. Horror movies included.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I need to clarify something first: In this story Ladynoir won't be appearing a lot (obviously) until the eventual reveal. They are 100% lovingly platonic on both sides, but this is in no way going to affect the feelings Adrienette have for each other.

"Alya." Marinette narrowed her eyes at her friend. "This is a bad idea."

She snickered. "It's not like I created the opportunity, girl. It came to you in the form of a classwide movie fest."

"You mean a horror movie fest! Why did I agree to this?" Marinette groaned.

"Maybe next time, don't hack into my DDR server, and lose a bet in quick succession." Alya suggested.

"I hate you."

"Love you too, girl." Alya laughed.

Midterms had just gotten over, and Miss Bustier had suggested taking the entire class to a movie to celebrate the fact that everyone (including Kim) had passed with improved grades.

Max and Adrien scored the highest, to no one's surprise. Marinette and Alya's parents had cooked them both a lavish dinner respectively to celebrate their wonderful grades. Nino was in tears after receiving his first ever Physics midterm with a spiky 'A-' scrawled on it, thanks to his hard work and Adrien's tutoring.

Even Chloe, whom Adrien had noticed whenever he went to visit had actually put work into studying by herself instead of forcing Sabrina to do it for her.

The only thing was..... Marinette should have seen it coming when half the class, excluding herself, Adrien, Mylene and Nino voted for a horror movie, which was annoyingly conveniently done at the same time 'The Survival of the Zombie Bride' released.

Nino shrugged and waved it off. He didn't particularly like horror movies, but he could atleast sit through one.

Mylene had certainly gotten better at her fear after having Ivan for a boyfriend.

Marinette was shaking ever since that fateful day two days ago. She missed out on Adrien's reaction because she was too busy coping with freaking out about it by nearly ripping Alya's arm off.

She could have declined. She could have faked being sick. But her usual Ladybug luck was failing her, because she had owed Alya a favor earlier from losing to a silly bet.

She didn't even remember what exactly she did to screw THAT up.

"Chillax, girl." Alya said. "You won't be alone. Adrien asked you himself if you wanted to sit next to him, remember?" She pushed her ahead when Marinette didn't realise she was holding up the counter line.

"That's - one large popcorn and a hot dog, please - that's even worse, Alya!" Marinette wailed, as the lady behind the counter raised her eyebrows as she left to collect her order.

"Why so?" Alya asked, absent mindedly glancing behind her to see Nino who was waiting outside the theater for Adrien to come. "I thought you two were a lot closer now."

"Because I'm going to ruin all the progress I've made by being a complete mess! You remember the time I hid under your couch the last time we had a horror movie night, don't you?" Marinette said anxiously as she paid for her food.

"Oh yes, I remember." Alya said, moving to the front as Marinette gave her way. "You refused to come out an hour after the movie ended."

Their conversation was cut short for a while as Marinette had to leave the line while Alya had to buy food for both her and Nino. Marinette managed to quirk a smile when she saw her excitedly chat with Alix, another horror movie fan who was right behind her in line.

"Dude, you made it!" She heard Nino's faint voice from the entrance, and Adrien came into view. She could only make out a blond mop of hair from where she was standing though.

It was only Adrien, right? It was only the boy she was in love with for the past year with whom she had also become extremely close with and happy around. He wouldn't judge her for wanting to crawl under a seat and never wanting to come out. He was too kind for that.

"Marinette, do you trust me?" Alya said from behind her, making her jump.

"Knowing you? Not usually." Marinette retorted.

"Fair. But you gotta remember, I pulled you here only after Adrien asked you if you wanted to sit with him." She said seriously.

"Yes, I know." She said. Her best friend loved to rag on her, but she always knew it was with pure, affectionate intentions. "I guess it won't be so bad."

"I'm actually proud of you, you know? If it were two months ago, I'm positively sure you would have combusted into flames on the spot."

"Huh." Marinette said, realising. "I would have, wouldn't I? I guess I just needed to calm down for a while and just look at Adrien as a friend. That really helped."

Alya smiled, genuinely happy for Adrien and Marinette's blooming friendship. "Besides." She added. "Have you ever thought about why he asked you?"

Marinette actually hadn't thought about that. "I don't know, there must be a really normal reason. He probably didn't want to end up third wheeling you two."

Alya sighed exasperatedly, but let it slide. "Hey look, the two of them are coming our way."

"-actually surprised your old man agreed to this." Nino was saying to Adrien.

"Well,I did make sure I stayed on top of everything so he wouldn't have an excuse to pin on me for not going." Adrien replied,then snorted. "Except now he's terrified that I might eat too much popcorn and come rolling into my house with all the extra weight."

"Hey, girls!" Nino waved to them. "Aw, you got me the pizza slice with the pepperoni!" He said happily, taking the food Alya offered him. "You remembered!"

"Well, why wouldn't I?" Alya teased as Nino kissed her cheek.

"It's the least you can do after dragging me to this." Nino said, even though the lovesick look in his eyes didn't fade.

"Don't tell me all the preparation of watching three horror movies in a row was all for nothing." Alya laughed as Nino threw an arm around her.

"Ahem." They heard someone clear her throat and both of them turned to look at an amused Adrien and a smug Marinette. "Don't mind us." She said. "Carry on with your flirting. Don't get a room or anything."

Adrien chortled at that. Nino turned bright red, but Alya remained shameless. "You know, I think we will. Come on, babe. The extra wheels can fend for themselves." She winked at them as she dragged her boyfriend away.

"Don't be too late! Movie starts in ten minutes." Nino called back helpfully.

"Ah, I guess that's on me for arriving late." Adrien said, turning to Marinette, only to see her staring at him. "What is it?"

"You're wearing the scarf." She noted.

"Told you I would wear it everywhere, didn't I?" He said teasingly. "Oh, that line is shorter. I'll be back."

"Do me a favour and splurge on yourself!" Marinette called after him.

"Don't have to tell me twice!" He called back.

She watched him chat absent mindedly with Max and Kim, who were in front of the line with him.

She noticed how much more freer he had become since the first time she saw him in school. Last year, he reluctantly stuck to Chloe, otherwise he was almost always seen with Nino.

He was still reserved to an extent, but anyone could see how much Adrien had bloomed into a social butterfly over the past year. It wasn't just his in bred manners and politeness, no, Marinette knew him better than that. Adrien radiated kindness and a willingness to be inclusive and open wherever he went. And this was all despite being locked up in his house for nearly thirteen years.It was safe to say that on some deeper level, Marinette was proud of him for persevering despite everything.

“Alright, everyone,” Miss Bustier called. “Get in line, please!”

To Marinette’s surprise, Adrien slipped her hand in his and pulled her away with force just short of gentle.

“Is everything okay?” She asked him, confused. “Why do you look so agitated?”

“Don’t look behind you now.” He whispered. “But it seems like someone has her eyes on us.”

She didn’t need to turn around to know who it was.

“What are the chances she managed to weasel her way into sitting close enough to torment us?”

“Noooo.” He whined. “Don’t jinx it, I’d rather actually watch “The Survival of The Zombie Bride” than deal with her.”

Marinette was surprised at that. From the way he phrased it, it sounded like he really was considering dealing with Lila than watch the movie.

\--------------------

Marinette was seated next to Mylene who was talking to her about how Ivan had worked with her until she got the hang of her phobias involving gore. In fact, the only reason she agreed to come to the movie was because it didn’t involve blood.

“I mean,” She said. “They’re zombies. They don’t have blood!”  
“They don’t?” Marinette squeaked in relief. “Thank goodness.”

“I know right?” She said.

“It was sweet of Ivan to help you out. You guys are so adorable.” Marinette grinned up at the large boy sitting next to his girlfriend.

“Thanks Marinette.” He said happily, focusing his attention on the trailers, which were just beginning.

“Atleast I’m not the only one here who isn’t a fan of horror.” Mylene confessed. “Between you, me, Nino and Adrien, that is.”

“Yeah-“ Marinette cut herself off when she heard Adrien’s name. He wasn’t a fan of horror?

“Hey!” She heard the aforementioned boy say behind her and she jumped.

“Sorry, Marinette.” He whispered apologetically, holding his drink in his hand which he mentioned forgetting at the counter in his haste to get away from Lila. “I didn’t scare you, did I?”

“Why would you scare me? It’s not like you’re one of the zombies who are going to eat me on my wedding day, right?” she squawked.

Catching sight of his expression in the darkened theatre, she caved. “I’m sorry. I guess it’s all just getting to me. It’s not a big deal, right? We’re just going to watch a movie. Things that happen in movies aren’t real! And-“

He placed a calming hand on her thigh. “It’s okay if you are scared, you know. I’m terrified too.”

“You- what?”

“I was kind of embarrassed to tell you earlier.” He confessed.

“Why would you be embarrassed, Adrien? You know I hate horror movies.” She pointed out.

“I know, I just –“ Marinette finally got a good look at his face. He was actually nervous. Not ‘I hate blood and gore and monsters’ nervous, he was wearing that gobsmacked, terrified expression Marinette had basically invented. When she was around HIM, ironically. Go figure.

“I just didn’t want you think I was a wimp because I can’t handle a scary movie. Not that I think you are! You aren’t scared or anything – I mean you are – but -” He finally face palmed. “And now I’ve made things even more awkward. I’m going to shut up now.”

Marinette laughed. It was nice to not be the stuttering, bumbling idiot for once. “It’s okay.” She patted his arm. “I’m a wimp too. I’ve earned that title. And it’s not so bad if I get to be with the company of other wimps.”

“Really?” Adrien’s voice was muffled. He still hadn’t removed his hand from his face.

“Really.” Marinette said, pulling his hand away from his face.

He looked at her, his eyes narrowed, before saying “The worst thing about horror films in 1,2,3, GO!”

“The main character is always stupid!” Both of them said at the same time, and gasped.

“Seriously,” Adrien whispered. “It’s like they would willingly walk ahead if they saw a sign called, ‘Fatal Danger Ahead!’”

“I know right?!” Marinette said loudly, forgetting to use her inside voice. She was promptly shushed by several annoyed people.

“Sorry, sorry!” She whisper shouted.

“And I don’t get it-“ Adrien was immediately tugging back on her hand, pulling her back to the conversation like nothing had happened. “How is it that in some movies, when they stab a zombie, it bleeds out?? That literally makes no sense!” he gesticulated wildly with his hands. “It’s a _zombie_. It is already dead!”

Marinette wasn’t immersing herself in movie logic. The realization that Adrien Agreste, teen supermodel, was in fact a dork with a hatred for movies that do not follow logic was much more tempting.

“It’s starting!” Rose’s excited squeal echoed through the theatre before several people shushed her too.

\-------------------------------------------

They were only half an hour into the movie, and even though the premise was still normal, both Marinette and Adrien were shock still, literally like two cats on a hot tin roof.

Seriously, even Mylene was fine. She was chatting away with Ivan about how beautiful she found the main character’s wedding dress was.

“Is something going to happen now?” Adrien was muttering, holding on tight to Marinette’s hand.

“She’s w-walking down the aisle – what if it’s the groom that’s the zombie?! What if he only pretended to love her but really he wanted to eat her brains?” She whisper shouted. “Adrien, if that happens I’m never getting married!” She was holding his hand in a grip so firm both their knuckles had gone white.

 _“Well that would be such a shame.”_ Someone whispered in her ear.

For a moment she thought someone in the movie had spoken, but she was left confused. No one had opened their mouth.

She slowly turned her head to look at the boy next to her, who was watching her with keen interest, trying to gouge her reaction. Did he just say what she thought he said? Was this from the movie? Was it real life?

Her thoughts were swirling in her head, but she didn’t miss how his gaze had flickered to her lips; and how his face was growing closer. Marinette felt her eyes flutter shut. By the time she realised she was leaning in, she was already halfway there-

“NOOOOO! STEVEN!” The bride (Marinette’s had forgotten her name) screamed through the screen, and in turn, so did everyone in the theatre. It had jolted both Marinette and Adrien out of their bubble, and by the time they had caught up with what had happened, the groom was already opening his wide jaws and swallowing his bride-to-be.

Marinette flinched away in disgust. “Okay, I wish I didn’t see that.”

“Neither did I.” Adrien said. “I think I’m gonna be sick.”

Marinette looked at him quickly and he seemed to realise what that implied. “The movie! Not you! Never you! Not that-“

The theatre screamed again for something else that had happened and what Adrien had been trying to say was cut short.

“It’s okay!” Marinette said over the noise. “It’s okay! I also did –“ she struggled to form what words to describe what just happened. “-that.”

“I’m sorry, Marinette-oh ew.” Adrien said with disgust, his eyes catching up on the movie. “Okay, you know what, maybe this isn’t so scary after all – it’s just lame-“

A sudden jumpscare involving a live skeleton had the entire theatre screeching again, this time including the awkward pair of friends.

“Oh my god.” Adrien breathed. He had never screamed that loud in his entire life. And he spent half of it getting thrown around by akumas.

He was still recovering from the shock and bracing for another one, he almost didn’t realise Marinette had hid her face into his neck and was muttering something incoherent to herself while clutching his entire arm.

He hated Marinette looking so distressed, even if it was over a movie. But at the same time he didn’t mind her current position. Not when her lips were touching his skin right where he was especially sensitive.

“Marinette.” He touched her hand. “It’s okay, it’s over now.”

“No, I can’t look at that again!” Pleasant shivers ran through his body when her breath fanned against his neck. “Please don’t make me!”

“I’m scared too, remember?” He said softly and she looked up, and Adrien was relieved to see that the embarrassment caused due to his own stupidity from earlier _(what was he thinking???)_ had faded. “We can be scared together.”

“Okay, they just had a jumpscare, they won’t put another one so soon.” Marinette panted, moving her face away from his shoulder but still not letting go of his arm.

She was right. For the next hour, mostly everything was fine, except for a few whimpers from Adrien when the visuals became too bloody for his taste and shivers from Marinette when the music became too scary. All throught, she still held on to his arm and he held on to her other hand.

The camera turned to face the scenery in the movie, showing the audience the woods from the now zombie-bride’s point of view (Marinette STILL couldn’t remember her name and Adrien had joked about how Chloe had rubbed off on her, which led to him getting a well deserved jab on his shoulder.) and for now, everything seemed fine. She was trying to find the pack of zombies she had been estranged from. Or atleast she thought. She wasn’t really paying that much attention to the movie, her focus completely on how Adrien’s body felt against hers-

Marinette was the first of many to scream when a bat suddenly hung itself overly close, like, 3D levels close to the camera.

Both of them reached for the other in a terrified hug, and she would have normally exploded with excitement if she ever got held by Adrien Agreste the way he was holding her then. But not right then, not when she was questioning the reason for her entire existence and praying that it be over already.

“If we ever get to see a movie again, Marinette,” Adrien’s teeth chattered as his hand moved from cradling her head to around her shoulder. “Horror is strictly off the list.”

“Don’t have to tell me twice.” Marinette agreed, her eyes on the screen, but her hands were still on his chest. “How about a nice, simple romantic comedy?”

“Agreed. Which one?” His eyes hadn’t left the screen either, but all his attention was on her.

“I saw a poster for a one named _‘Le week-end’_. Releases this Friday.”

“Great I’ll pick you up this Saturday then.”

“Be there before 6.”

“You got it. It’s a date?”

He finally turned to look at the girl next to him, who was already gazing at him.

He was on the verge of saying “Nevermind” when she answered, “It’s a date.”

“Good.”

“Good.”

They were lost in each other’s gaze, they didn’t even flinch when the theatre screamed again, or even notice a certain brunette glaring daggers at them from two rows behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YAY! THEY ARE DATING! NEXT CHAPTER IS THEIR DATE AND THE CHAPTER AFTER THAT IS THEIR WEDDING!
> 
> JAY-KAY!
> 
> Lol, I'm not gonna make them a couple that quickly. Why? Cause I'm evil.  
> These two still have a long way to go, and the next two chapters are gonna be pretty tense, if the last sentence of this chapter is any indication.


	15. Day 15: Sacrifices

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lila successfully manages to break Marinette, and Adrien is having none of it.

Adrien flung his bag across his room in anger. 

"Hey! What's your deal?!" Plagg asked, flying out of the bag with an annoyed look on his face. 

"Why does she misunderstand what I'm trying to say, Plagg?!" Adrien shouted back. 

"Maybe because you framed it horribly?" Plagg pointed out. 

\-------------------------------------

_("Adrien, this is serious! She made true on her word before, if we don't try to expose Lila now, she might as well ruin everything!" Marinette said._

_They were at the park, after school, and Marinette asked Adrien to hang back for a while._

_"Wait, what did she say to you, exactly?" Adrien asked._

_Marinette took a deep breath. "'Stay away from Adrien or I will find even more ways to ruin everything for you.'" she quoted. "That's what she said."_

_'She hates that we're becoming closer.' Adrien thought.)_

_\-------------------------------------------_

"I never said we shouldn't expose her!" Adrien said defensively. "Why would I say that now that I know exactly the kind of person Lila is?!"

"Well, to be fair you did choose to make a secret deal with her over showing the world who she is." 

\-------------------------------------

_("Lila's expertise is in public humiliation, Marinette." Adrien explained calmly, placing a hand on her shoulder._

_Marinette was clearly agitated, and he could see where she was coming from. She had been a victim to Lila's schemes in front of his eyes not more than a month ago._

_"So trust me when I say this, if we go out and expose her, she'll have another trick up her sleeve, we-"_

_Marinette had gone still under his touch._

_"Are you saying we shouldn't expose her?" She asked him coldly.)_

_\-----------------------------------_

“That’s different, Plagg and you know it. No one would have believed me if I told them what she had done. She had evidence backing her up, evidence that she had planted. Offering Lila what I did was the only way to get her to back off.”

“And she clearly didn’t listen, did she?” Plagg said. “Listen, you have everyone’s best interests at heart, and the way you approach things actually works. Just for a short period of time. You knew this would backfire, Adrien – no, don’t look at me like that. You knew this would happen.”

For once, it was Adrien being the reckless one and Plagg lecturing him. What a nice change of pace.

“Well what happens now?” He said sarcastically. “She’s clearly got everyone backed up in her corner.”

\----------------------------------------

( _“What? No! That’s not what I’m saying at all! Believe me, I think we should go after her but directly going and telling the entire class is not going to work! And you know that too, Marinette, you’ve tried that method several times and it always backfired because Lila twisted the situation to make herself look like a victim.”_

_“You’re talking like I didn’t listen to your advice in the first place!” Marinette jabbed a finger at him accusingly. “I did listen to you! I didn’t try to expose her, I kept quiet while she lied to my friends and tried to defame me! The only time I didn’t was when she went after YOU!”_

_“Went after me? What are you talking about?” Adrien tried to sound innocent, but his heart was hammering in his chest. Did she find out about the deal he made with Lila? Did that liar blab and twist it around-_

_“I saw her lie and break her way into your house! Remember? That was when Kagami got akumatised!”_

_“Wait, how do you know that?”_

_“I...” She hesitated, fidgeting with her fingers. “I followed you to your house. That’s how I know.”_

_“What?” Adrien wasn’t angry by any means, but she flinched away from him like she expected him to be.)_

_\--------------------------------------------_

“What are you going to do about it? Are you going after Marinette? Or Lila?” Plagg asked.

Adrien slid down into a depressed heap in front of his bed. “I didn’t know she targeted Marinette that much...” his voice shook.

“You can’t blame yourself for what Lila did.”

“But I should have known, Plagg. I should have realised sooner that she was nothing but a-“ he caught himself before he said anything too obscene, even if Lila deserved it. “I enabled her. Maybe I didn’t before, but after she got Marinette expelled? I definitely did.”

\--------------------------------

_(“Don’t you see? She’s not only actively harming me, she’s also doing it to you! Why aren’t you realising that?!”_

_Now Adrien was angry. Was she really saying this after he had stood by her side through everything??_

_“What? You think I seriously don’t know what kind of a person she is? You think I went along with getting tied up to you all day because I was in love with Lila or something?!”_

_“Maybe not, but you certainly are hell bent on protecting her.” Marinette crossed her arms._

_“If you would give me a chance to TALK, maybe you’d realise that I’m trying to do the exact opposite!” Adrien retorted. “We have to approach this carefully, okay? Marinette, if we mess this up by going too fast-“_

_“Adrien, you are the one who needs to see what waiting did to me. To everyone in our class! She threatened me in the bathroom the day she came back for god’s sake!” Marinette shouted, but then stopped when she realised she said something she shouldn’t have._

_“Wait, she did what?” Adrien asked softly.)_

_\----------------------------------_

“Why didn’t you ask her why she didn’t you tell you that?” Plagg perched on top of Adrien’s knee.

“I would have been a hypocrite if I did that.” Adrien muttered. “What with having some skeletons in my own closet.”

“Why didn’t you tell her THAT then? Why didn’t you let her know that you were the reason she was un-expelled?”

“I was embarrassed, Plagg. It’s a dumb reason, but its the truth. I wish I handled that better, because guess who I’m stuck with in a photoshoot in less than a week?” He said bitterly.

\------------------------------

( _“She threatened you??” Adrien growled._

_“Yes, Adrien, she did.” Marinette said, and to his surprise, she flinched away from him, wrapping her arms around herself. “She told me that I had to be either with her or against her, and if I was against her, she would turn all my friends against me, and I would end up alone.” She squeezed her eyes shut, and Adrien could feel his heart breaking when he realised that Marinette was holding back tears._

_“Marinette, I am..” his voice choked up. He stepped closer to her, but he didn’t touch her, especially when it was clear that she was less than pleased with him. “I am so sorry. I didn’t know. I didn’t realise she was actively targeting you since the beginning.”_

_His sorrow melted away into fury, as the mental picture of Lila cornering sweet, innocent and honest Marinette against a wall formed in his head. All because she was brave enough to call her out on her bullshit._

_“The next time I see her, I am going to kill her.“ He growled. How dare she?_

_“And she mentioned something about you two doing photoshoots together?” Marinette asked him in a wobbly voice that wasn’t accusatory. “How did that happen?”_

_Adrien stilled. Oh no. How was he going to get out of this one?_

_If he had raised the stakes, or atleast forced Lila out of the situation by hook or by crook instead of ENABLING her-_

_“I don’t know how that happened.” He admitted. “She keeps on blathering about how my father discovered her as his muse or something. And I can’t even go and talk to my own father without making an appointment.” He grumbled._

_“Y-your father?” Marinette’s voice had suddenly become a thousand times smaller. )_

_\-------------------------------------_

“Why didn’t I think that would have consequences???” Adrien slapped his forehead.

“Because you are a good kid, Adrien.” Plagg said somberly. “At that point, all that mattered to you was that Marinette should get back in school.”

“Hey,” Plagg suddenly said. “Why do you still have to do those things after Lila broke her end of the deal, even before today? She tried to force Marinette out of her seat to sit with you several times.”

“I was being fair to my end of the deal. And being completely stupid.” Adrien said.

At the same time, he couldn’t find himself regretting being subjected to those awful photoshoots. As long as it kept Marinette safe from her.

\-----------------------------------------

( _“Yeah.” He muttered. “Don’t know what strings she had pull to get there.”_

_“Marinette, please, just listen to me.” He said earnestly. “I don’t want to fight with you. That is the last thing I want. Especially after knowing what exactly she did to you, there’s nothing I want more than to see her get what she deserves. But we really have to think this through. She is smart and she will do anything to separate us now that she knows we both know she’s a liar.”_

_Marinette didn’t respond to him, instead she stared at her feet._

_“Marinette? Are you okay?” Adrien asked hesitantly. “Do you want to go sit down somewhere and get some air?”_

_“No.” She said instead. “No, I don’t want to.”_

_“What do you mean?” Adrien asked. “Look, you’re shivering, you need to-“_

_“You were right, Adrien. We can’t show everyone her true colors without getting hurt more in the process. I think it’s best if we just let it go.”_

_“What? Marinette, no! We can’t let her get away with this! Isn’t that what you wanted??”_

_“Maybe I changed my mind.” She said, in a monotone, clipped voice that was so unlike Marinette. “We don’t have to get in too much trouble if we just do nothing.”_

_“Marinette, what’s wrong?” Adrien asked. “What happened?”_

_"I...uh.." she stammered._

_“She told you something, didn’t she?” He said, realising._

_“I can’t do this right now, Adrien.” Marinette said, with an air of finality. “I’m sorry I wasted your time.”)_

_\-----------------------_

“I don’t get it, Plagg.” Adrien was confused, he didn’t know what to do and his head was aching with despair.

“One moment, she’s hell bent on getting back at Lila, and the next she just lets it go?” He threw his hands in the air.

“This is why I prefer cheese to girls. So much easier and lesser complications.”

“What am I missing?!” Adrien raged. “What did she even say to her that made Marinette so frantic?? Especially since she hasn’t even done anything to Lila?!”

“You and I both know who can answer that question.” Plagg said quietly.

Adrien stared at his kwami for a while.

“And while you are at it, it would be better if you told her everything that happened the day she got expelled.”

“I failed her, Plagg.” Adrien realised a tear was rolling down his right cheek. “I did everything I could to keep Lila away from her and it still wasn’t enough. I don’t blame Marinette if she actually hates me now and is just too nice to say it.”

“Hey, no, no crying.” Plagg said fiercely. “Marinette doesn’t hate you, and I know that for a fact.”

“How could you know that? I’m the one who asked her to step back like an idiot. I’m the stupid one who thought Lila just lied for attention.”

“YOU DIDN’T KNOW.” Plagg yelled in his face. “You didn’t know the kind of person she was, but you figured it out!”

“I should have known!” Adrien fought back.

“How? By walking into the GIRL’S restroom just in time to see Marinette getting threatened by her?” Plagg said sarcastically.

Adrien opened his mouth and shut it, glaring at his kwami, but conceding that he was right.

“You know what your problem is, Adrien? You can’t, for the life of you, ever consider the possibility that sometimes, bad things happening to the people you love is NOT your fault. Lila was the one who actively targeted Marinette, not you. You not knowing that Marinette was targeted is because MARINETTE had her own reasons not to tell you. Now get that into your thick head or I’ll make you do it myself.” Plagg scowled at his wielder.

“Will Marinette even talk to me?” Adrien whispered to himself.

His very vocal and angry kwami from a few minutes ago fell silent.

“ARGH I HATE THIS!” Adrien got up abruptly and kicking his bed with full force. “I can’t believe I’m saying this but I hate that _that liar_ ” he said it with so much venom “has the gall to bully Marinette and make her feel like she's nothing! She's scared to even come talk to me properly because of her! Plagg, I can’t stand to see Marinette like this. She is always so fun and happy and I’ve never seen her so distressed and just...so lost.”

“She’s not the only one.” Plagg voiced. “Listen. Marinette isn’t unreasonable in any way, okay? Just go and tell her everything. EVERYTHING. Don’t leave out anything. If you are honest with her, she’ll be honest with you too. Don’t let this Lila girl tear you apart.”

“You know what, you are right. Come on, let’s go.” Adrien said, resolutely. “I’m talking to Marinette and telling her everything she needs to know. And then, I’m going to break down Lila’s door and-“

“As much as I would love to join, Marinette and Su-“ Plagg gulped.

“What did you say?” Adrien asked.

“I SAID, Marinette wouldn’t let you do that!” Plagg laughed nervously. “You know she isn’t a violent person.”

“Lila would deserve it.” Adrien muttered.

“If you should ever choose to do so, just say the word because my Cataclysms are free of charge.” Plagg grinned wickedly.

“Thank you, Plagg.” Adrien said tiredly. “Let’s go.”

\-----------------------------------------

Without even thinking about it, Adrien ran down the stairs two at a time before anyone noticed he was gone.

“Phew.” He told himself as he reached the door.

“Where are you going, Adrien?” He heard the same cold voice he rarely heard from these days.

He turned to face his father, who was glaring at him coolly from the entrance to his office.

He wracked his head for a good possible excuse, one that wouldn’t land him or Marinette in trouble.

“I..um, I wanted to go visit my friend Marinette.” He settled for the truth instead.

“And why is that all of a sudden? Without asking for permission even?”

“She is kind of going through something, father.” Adrien said, faltering.

“And she requires you for that?”

Adrien was deeply frustrated already. If only he had run a little faster.

He was nearly accepted apologizing to his father and retreating to his room out of habit. That was how it always was.

That was not going to be the case today. No way was he letting Marinette deal with all this alone.

He wasn’t going to let his father keep him from seeing her.

“She really needs a friend to help her out, father. She is counting on me.” He said, standing taller. “The situation was so urgent I didn’t immediately think to ask for permission.”

“Do your friends need you so much that you choose to forego on basic manners?” Gabriel raised an eyebrow.

”I’m sorry,father.” He said evenly. “I think I was too focused on being a good friend to realise I needed permission to be one.”

Gabriel’s stare bored into him heavily. Adrien refused to look away even though his legs were turning into jelly.

“Aren’t you supposed to be practicing your piano?”

“A few hours of me being outside the house isn’t going to make me hit the wrong key all of a sudden.” He replied forcefully, before flinching back at what he said.

‘Is that so?” Gabriel said thoughtfully, stroking his chin. “Why don’t we test that theory?”

“What do you mean?”

“You can go to your friend, but once you come back, you play all your lessons for me since the beginning. Then we shall see if your....distractions really are not hindering your performance, as you say.”

Adrien nearly sobbed in relief. Playing 14 songs consecutively was nothing. He knew them all like the back of his hand. And he had been subjected to far worse ministrations by his father.

“Okay. I can do that. I’ll be back in a few hours. I don’t need the car, I can walk.” He said shortly before descending down the stairs.

“Don’t think I haven’t noticed this change in your behaviour, Adrien,” His father called from behind him. “And I am not pleased.”

The temptation to just go back and yell at his dad till his lungs gave out was too much.

_Marinette. Think of Marinette. She needs you._ He gritted his teeth and ran down the stairs without looking back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am well aware this veers dangerously into salt territory, but really, it isn't. Both Adrien and Marinette have very different mindsets, and thus their actions towards Lila are different. Marinette is fiery and aggressive, Adrien is cautious, but also protective. Marinette's main goal is justice where Lila is concerned. Adrien's main goal is the least amount of hurt and pain caused where Lila is concerned. And obviously, both those things clashed. Believe me, Marinette has a very real reason for changing her mind off the bat like that.   
> In the end, neither of them are mad or upset at each other. They are mad and upset with the situation. I tried to make them both as human as possible, even if this entire chapter is from Adrien's POV. The next one will be from Marinette's POV.


	16. Day 16: Rejected Heroes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who knew the teen supermodel and the class sweetheart were capable of taking down a manipulating liar?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Believe me, I wrecked my head for a proper way to write this prompt, and I finally settled on this. I know it's a very broad approach, but I hope you'll enjoy it.

Marinette hugged her knees closer to her chest and buried her face in them. 

"Tikki, are there any akumas nearby?" Marinette mumbled. 

"None as of now, Marinette." She said gently. 

"I can't believe I was so stupid." Marinette sniffled as she stared at the Eiffel Tower from her spot at the steps at Trocedaro Square.

She hadn't gone back home. If her parents saw her, she would have been subjected to too many questions and she didn't want that. 

Instead she chose to sit at the park and mope quietly about she had gotten Adrien agitated for no reason and had blown him off. 

"Maybe I really should have stayed away from him?" Marinette said, wiping away her tears. "What if she realises that and-and-" she couldn't bring herself to finish that sentence. 

"Marinette, you were right to go to him for help. And Adrien was willing to give it to you, even." Tikki said from her spot in her purse. 

"That is the whole problem. If Lila notices that Adrien is actively in on this with me, who knows what she could do to him?? I can't- I couldn't let that happen to him! I acted so rashly and told him about this instead of keeping quiet-" 

"That's exactly what Lila wants, Marinette!" Tikki urged. "You can't let her get that satisfaction! You were the one who fought back since the beginning! And maybe...maybe you should have told him the entire story." 

"And risk chances of him getting into more trouble with his dad? He's already going through so much, I can't add on to that!" 

"Marinette, this problem will never be solved unless you and Adrien are honest with each other - especially in a situation where lies are involved."

"What if he's mad at me for not telling him?" Marinette asked, grimacing. 

"You saw how Adrien reacted when he got to know Lila threatened you. He wasn't mad at you for not telling him. He was mad at her for doing it. If he had known since the beginning..." Tikki's voice grew softer. "....you and I both know he would have shown her no mercy. Adrien cares about you, Marinette. He wouldn't hold that against you." 

"You really think?" Marinette groaned. "I think that...that was the heaviest conversation I've had with Adrien since....ever." 

"That's not a bad thing, Marinette." Tikki said wisely. "Having a relationship with someone - don't look at me like that - whether it is friendship or more will always have its ups and downs. You just have to ask yourself just how much that person matters to you." 

"I love him, Tikki. I love him so much."

"Then, you know. You know that you will take the good and the bad with him." Tikki advised. 

"What should I do now?" Marinette asked. "Other than give Lila a high five to her face with my fist." She grumbled. 

"You know violence is not the option Marinette. You can't stoop to her level." 

"I know. I know." 

"But that doesn't mean you don't have to get back at her." Tikki said, her honeyed voice so devious it actually made Marinette flinch. 

"Who are you and what have you done with my Kwami?" 

"I want justice for what she's done to you, Marinette." Tikki scowled. "There's no way she gets to walk around freely after tormenting you like this." 

"I love you, Tikki." Marinette stroked her kwami's head. 

"I love you too, Marinette." Tikki nuzzled into her finger. 

"So what should we do?" Marinette asked. 

"First, talk to Adrien. Two heads are better than one." 

Marinette hesitated. "Okay." She pulled out her silenced phone, ready to call him. 

Only to find out that he had called her three times. And was calling her again. 

Marinette squealed and nearly dropped her phone. 

"Answer it, Marinette!" Tikki urged. 

"Okay, Marinette. This isn't like those other times." She gave herself a pep talk. "This is for the greater good." 

"Hello?" Adrien's voice came from her phone and Marinette realised with horror that she'd pressed the answer and the speaker buttons somehow.

Hurriedly turning off the speaker, she answered. "Please tell me you didn't hear me give myself a pep talk." 

She could imagine his mirthless smile even without seeing him. "Okay, I didn't hear yourself give you a pep talk." 

"Darn." 

"Where are you?" He asked, after a beat. 

"A-are you at my house?" Marinette quivered. She had told her parents she wanted to get some fresh air so they wouldn't worry about her whereabouts, but if Adrien had gone to them and asked for her- 

"No, I had a feeling you wouldn't be there." He said intuitively. "And I also wanted to check first if you wanted to talk or if I should back off." 

Marinette's heart melted. Even though he hasn't done anything wrong, and she was the one who went off on him, he was still respecting her space. 

"I'm not at my house." She said, after coming up with nothing to say to that. "I'm at Trocedaro Square. I'm sitting at the steps." 

There was a pause on the other line. "I'll be there. Give me a few minutes. Wait, um," his tone became shyer. "That is, if you want to talk." 

"Adrien." She breathed. "Of course I do." 

Silence. Then-

"Good. Um, that's good - good that you want to talk." He babbled. 

She smiled quietly to herself. Maybe all hope wasn't lost yet. 

"Wait, hold on a minute." She said as she realised something. "How did you get out of your house?" 

He didn't answer, and Marinette thought he had hung up. "Adrien? Are you there?" 

"Yeah. I am. And it doesn't matter how I got out of my house, Marinette. All that's important is that I'm out and....and I really really want to see you." 

She didn't even get time to react to that. 

"Hang tight. I'll be there soon." He said shortly and hung up. 

\-----------  
Marinette asked Tikki to hide in her purse as a precaution. She spent a few minutes staring at the Eiffel Tower, then at Mr. Ramier sitting at a bench opposite to her and chatting away merrily with his pigeons.  
Finally, she brought out her sketchbook and started doodling away at one of her unfinished designs. 

"That's a really pretty one." Someone commented behind her and Marinette jumped, her pencil clattering out of her hands and rolling down the stairs.

"Wha-uh-" she turned to look at Adrien standing behind her. 

"Sorry!" He said apologetically, hopping down a few steps and grabbing her pencil before it rolled away too far. "I didn't mean to frighten you." 

"I-it's okay." Marinette said. 

"Here." He handed her her pencil and Marinette tentatively took it, hating how her body reacted over her fingertips touching his. 

"So, um, may I sit-?" 

"Yeah, go ahead." She said, not meeting his eyes and closing her sketchbook and placing it in her bag. 

"So..." Adrien said awkwardly. 

Marinette took a good look at him and saw that he was just as uncomfortable as she was. 

"I have something to tell you." They said in unison. 

"No, you go first!" Shoot. "I'll go first!" 

"I think you should go first." Marinette interrupted before things got too awkward. 

Adrien wanted to let her go first, but it really seemed like she wasn't ready to say what she had to say right off the bat.  
"Alright. I'll go first." Adrien said, gulping. "I have something to admit to you, Marinette and the reason why I couldn't do it before was because I was embarrassed." He said all in one breath. 

"And what is that?" 

"Do you remember the day you got expelled?" Adrien began, fidgeting with his shirt collar. 

"Yeah..." 

"Did Lila change her story in front of the principal? Did she say she had a debilitating disease that made her lie to people?" 

"Yeah," Marinette rolled her eyes. "That lie was seriously dumb, even for her- waaaait, how do you know that?" 

"Because I told her to do that." Adrien confessed. 

"Huh?" Marinette was puzzled. 

"That day, after school, I had a photoshoot, and she had managed to weasel her way in like the leech she is." He said bitterly. "I confronted her when she was alone and told her off." 

The image of Adrien Agreste being angry enough to tell anyone off was frightening. And also really hot, in a way. 

"I knew that trying to get her to tell the truth was useless at that point, so instead, I told her that....if she didn't come up with another lie to prove that you were innocent, I would cut off all ties with her publicly." 

"W-what? And that's how the photoshoots came to be?" To say that Marinette was shocked would be an understatement. 

"Yeah." Her heart clenched when she saw him inching away from her like he expected her to lash out at him or worse. 

"Adrien - why would you do that?" Marinette whispered. "Especially knowing how uncomfortable she makes you?? Why would you put yourself through that?" 

He waved it off. "I'm used to working with less than professional people." 

He was lying. Adrien's eyes were searching around for a way to escape, like he was trapped in a tight box with no way out. 

"Adrien, I'm so sorry-" 

"I don't regret doing it, Marinette." He said gently. "Don't apologise for what I chose to do." 

"You know she is going to take full advantage of what you offered her!" 

"Doesn't matter." 

"Adrien." She shook his shoulder. "Look me in the eye and tell me that Lila is not making you miserable." 

His fists clenched, but he did look her in the eye. "The only other option in that situation would have been coming to school everyday and not seeing you, all the while knowing that there would have been a way to prevent it." 

"And what way is that? Selling yourself to her?" She asked incredulously. 

"Lila wants fame, Marinette. She was attention, and power, and I'm her main target because I can offer her those things." He said bitterly. "I did what I had to do. And it was worth it. You were able to come back, weren't you?" 

"This is....this is the hugest thing anyone could have ever done for me." Marinette said blankly. Other than Chat Noir sacrificing himself for her on a daily basis, of course, but she wasn't going to say that.  
She buried her face in her hands. "Saying thank you feels so inadequate." Her voice was muffled. 

"Marinette, it's okay, you don't have to thank me." He touched her shoulder, and realised she was shaking. 

"Marinette?" Adrien asked. "Marinette, what's wrong?" 

She peeked from the gaps between her fingers to reveal that she was tearing up. 

"Marinette are you crying?" Adrien asked, horrified.

"N-n-no." She sniffled, and he slung his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer together. 

"Marinette, please, please don't cry." Adrien pleaded as she buried her face into his neck, still not removing her hands. "I'm sorry. I would never have done it if I knew it would make you mad at me-" 

"I'm not mad at you." She managed to say through her hiccups. "I'm mad- I'm mad at myself!" 

"Why are you mad at yourself?" His hand shifted from her shoulder to caress a spot behind her ear. 

"Because you did something - something so stupid - and so selfless and I just blew up at you this morning!" She burst out. "I'm the one who should be sorry." She wiped her tears, but she was still shaking. "Not you." 

"Marinette, you don't have to apologise." He said soothingly. "It's not your fault I was embarrassed to tell you the truth." 

She froze under his embrace. 

"Marinette?" 

She inched away from him, far enough so that they weren't cuddling, but close enough so that his arm was still around her. 

"Speaking of the truth, remember how I said I had something to admit to you?" She said. 

"Yeah?" He said, without a hint of mistrust or caution in his eyes, and that was making what Marinette had to say just a lot more difficult than it was supposed to be. 

"I didn't tell you everything Lila had told me." She muttered. 

"Wait, what?" 

"She, um...she must have realised that doing something to me wouldn't keep me away from her....so she told me that if I didn't stay away from you, she would purposefully make you uncomfortable enough to ruin your fashion shoots." 

"Wait, I don't get it, what would she get out of me being uncomfortable with her?" 

"Don't you see, Adrien?" Marinette said. "She's sabatoging you on purpose. She knows you can't stand her, she knows that she is targeting you and she's using that to make you appear less than perfect in...." She hesitated. 

"In what?" 

"She's using that to make you appear less than ideal in your father's eyes, Adrien." 

"....what?" Adrien's face turned white as his arm slid away from her shoulders.

"At first, I thought, and told her, why would Adrien's father choose to scrutinise him over you? If he's not performing well in your photoshoots, in his eyes, obviously it's Lila's fault, not his." 

Adrien swore. "Fat chance of that happening." 

"I realised that when you mentioned your father, earlier, you know?" Marinette said softly. "Until then, I told myself that I could work with you on this, but once I realised that it would harm you, I just.....I couldn't go through with it." 

Adrien scoffed. "No matter what you do, my father will always find a way to critcise me for what I do. And Lila is using that to her gain."

Marinette's anger bubbled up more and more as she spoke. "What an absolute con she is, huh? I swear, if I didn't have self-control, I would have decked her right then."

"Oh, she's good." Adrien gritted his teeth. "Lila's not here to fool around, Marinette. If we're getting her, we're giving her a taste of her own medicine." 

"Wait, do you mean...." Marinette seemed to follow his exact train of thought. "Do you mean you're actually going to perform badly?" 

Adrien smirked darkly. "I can be the worst model the industry has ever been if I wanted to, Marinette." 

"But your father? What if he actually punishes you like Lila is intending for it to happen?" 

"Oh, don't worry about my dad." Adrien said. "I can take him on." 

"Right." Marinette said uncertainly, but then shook herself out of it. "Then if we're doing this the devious way, then I suggest we outright defy her." 

"What do you mean?" Adrien asked. 

"She doesn't want us to be seen together? We're going to be absolutely inseparable from now on." She said firmly. "And we're also not sugarcoating any of her antics. If she lies, then I'm saying that she's lying, and I'll have proof of it." 

"I like the way you think." He nudged her. "But what if...what if in case no one believes you? What if she pulls the victim card?" 

"Hey, if you can be the worst model the industry has ever seen, I can kill her with kindness. I'll call her out, but I'll be 'friendly' while doing it, if you know what I mean. For example, if she accuses me of stealing something, 'Oh, but Lila, don't you remember? You gave me your pencil! You are so sweet to let me borrow it!'" she winked. "If she tries to accuse me of stealing even after that, she'll just look bad in front of everyone, and she won't want that." 

"If she trips you?" 

" Watch this," Marinette said, and in a perfect imitation of guilt. "Oh no, Lila! I'm so sorry! I should have been watching where I was going! Do you need to go to the nurse? Do you want a hall pass?' And? I'll bring up her illness at every point I can." 

"You are the most amazing son of a gun I have ever seen." Adrien's jaw dropped. "Even if you are a girl." 

"And if everything goes like planned, and your father does realise that having Lila around is deterimental to his brand, we'll have cut off one of her resources." Marinette said. "And you'll be free from her."'

"I'll be holding my breath until Monday." Adrien said. 

"But Adrien.." Marinette tensed. "Will this get you into trouble with your father? I really don't want to-"

"Hey, don't worry about him, okay? You keep on murdering Lila by being your usual self," (Marinette blushed) "And leave me to my dad." 

"Promise me you won't get yourself expelled from school?"

"You have my word." Adrien crossed his heart. 

Marinette threw her arms around him, and he held her there for a while.  
There was no need for a verbal apology. Especially since they both knew there wasn't a need for one. 

"Oh my god." Marinette breathed. "We really are doing this." 

"Yeah we are." Adrien murmured into her hair. "As long as we stick together, she won't be able to touch us." 

"We are pretty awesome at teamwork, huh, Aspik?" Marinette said teasingly, pulling away first.

"I think the fact that we're pretty awesome at being friends has a lot to do with that." Adrien said seriously. "Thank you, Marinette. I can't believe you were ready to deal with her torture all so I could avoid getting grounded until my 30th birthday." 

Marinette knew from his grave tone that he was not exaggerating. 

"I can't believe you actually dealt with her presence so I could go back to school." She shot back. 

They remained in comfortable silence for a while as they got used to the new found revelation that they would do anything to protect the other person, even if it meant taking Lila's horrible behaviour upon themselves. 

Something slotted into place; another bond was tied between them. The first being the awareness of the other's superhero identity, then the ability to see through Lila's fakeness, and now in the plan they were setting into place together. 

"Do you have to go home immediately?" Marinette asked. 

"No, actually. What do you have in mind?" 

"I see André over there." Marinette pointed. "Do you want to get some ice cream?" 

Adrien's tired, wan face broke into a smile. "Do I?" He got up and gave her his hand. "All this plotting is making me hungry." 

Marinette chuckled and took his hand. "Let's go then." 

Oh, Lila Rossi had no idea what the heroes of Paris had in store for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lila, you and your roleplayer are going DOWN. On Day 21. See you then.


	17. Day 17: Life Swap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Marinette and Adrien's bodies get switched due to an akuma, Tikki and Plagg scramble around to try and protect their owner's identities.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know, this was supposed to be an Origins rewrite, but that has been done so many times, and I myself have done that TWICE, so here is a cracky fic that IS connected to the previous prompts, and features the main two, their identities and their idiot cells.

Marinette let out a loud snore as she turned on her back. 

Bzzz. Bzzz.

Ignoring the annoying blast in her ear, she rolled over to her side. 

Bzzz. Bzzz.

Huh. That was funny. Her alarm usually 'dinged' instead of buzzing. 

Blearily, she stretched out a hand to hold on to her wall for support. 

Her hand fell against something flat that WASN'T a wall. 

"Hm?" Marinette opened her eyes to see that her hand was on a table. A white table. Which had a phone which was buzzing and was definitely not hers. 

"What the-?" Marinette opened her eyes and turned it off. 

"Phew, fina-why does my voice sound like that- AM I IN ADRIEN'S ROOM-" She could only get out so much before something red zoomed at her shut her mouth. 

"Marinette, please stop screaming!" Tikki said pleadingly. 

"Tikki?!" Marinette said, in relief, once she pulled away. "Oh thank goodness, you're here too!" She opened her arma for a hug. 

Tikki didn't reciprocate the action. "Marinette, listen to me, something seriously went wrong last night." 

"Yeah! I know! I'm in Adrien's ROOM and he's nowhere to be seen- why am I wearing Ladybug pajamas?? And what the heck is wrong with my voice?? How did you get here??" 

Tikki winced. "I can tell you, but you have to promise me you won't scream." 

"I-what?" 

Tikki lead her over to the bathroom. 

Marinette took one look at her new body in the mirror and fainted. 

\------------------

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN I SWITCHED BODIES WITH MARINETTE?!” Adrien shouted at his black kwami who immediately flattened his ears against his head.

“Jeez, Louise, stop yelling!” Plagg whisper-shouted. “Do you want to wake her parents up??”

“This is a dream, right Plagg??? I’m just dreaming. There’s no way this is happening!“ Adrien looked down at Marinette’s flimsy tank top and pink pants, blushed and covered himself up with her sheets. He couldn’t look at her body. Not like this – AND NOT EVER.

“Yes, it is happening, either accept it or shut up and listen.” Plagg growled.

“Where is Marinette?? How did this happen??”

“It was an akuma. I don’t know the name or anything, but I realised quickly that you had switched places with your girlfriend. So obviously, she is in your room.”

“WHAT?”

\----------------------

Marinette was refusing to get up from Adrien’s bathroom floor.

“Nope, nope, nope. I am going back to sleep and I am going to wake up and this is all going to be a bad dream and I am going to put this all behind me.

Tikki was tugging on her clothes – Adrien’s clothes with no avail. “Marinette, this is serious!”

“Of all people in the world, it just had to be him, huh?!” Marinette shrieked. “I couldn’t have gotten someone nice and normal – NO SIREE it HAD to be the boy I love WHO JUST HAPPENS TO BE LIVING IN A-“

“MARINETTE!” Tikki got up in her face and yelled. “SHUT UP.”

“I CAN’T-“

“Take a deep breath.” Tikki advised. “In for 5 seconds, hold for 2, out for 3.”

Marinette obeyed, still not getting up from her place in the floor.

“Wait.” She said, finally pushing herself up. “If I’m here, in Adrien’s body, then he’s is in MINE?!”

Tikki groaned.

“NO NO NO THIS CAN’T BE HAPPENING!! He’s going to see me, Tikki! He’s going to see me and he’ll hate what he sees!!”

“Do you even know Adrien at all?! He would never violate your space!” Tikki told her bitingly.

“Yeah.” Marinette says realising. “He would never do that.” Marinette laughs maniacally. “He’s the most perfect gentleman ever.”

If you ever want to know how weird it is to see Adrien Agreste’s crush fawning over himself in his body, just ask Tikki.

“Wait, that’s still a problem! If he’s in Marinette’s body, HE’S WEARING MY EARRINGS! What if I have to transform?! How will I defeat the akuma?? Adrien will know I’m Ladybug!!”

“Adrien doesn’t know your earrings are special, Marinette.” Tikki shushed her. “That’s why I have a plan. Go get your phone, I mean Adrien’s phone.”

\-----------------

“So, I have to call Marinette, and beg her to go running around for the akuma?” Adrien said, holding Marinette’s phone like it was made out of porcelain.

“Not alone, with you as well.” Plagg said.

“And if the akuma hits us, we’ll be back to normal and I can go after it?” Adrien asks.

Plagg nodded.

“But what about school??!”

“Marinette??” A female voice called from below.

“Hide, Plagg!” Adrien shoved him inside the covers.

“Marinette, are you awake?” Mrs. Cheng asked, opening the trapdoor.

“Y-ye-yes, I am, Mother!” Adrien said, waving nervously from her bed.

“Mother?” She raised an eyebrow. “Since when do you call me that, dear?”

“Hahaha,” Adrien laughed stupidly. “Just messing around - mom.” He said, that last word sounding really foreign in his mouth. ‘Well, I should get ready for school! I’ll be down in a minute!”

“Oh sweetie, that’s what I came to tell you – schools are closed today.”

“Huh??”

“Apparently there’s an akuma wandering around that switches people’s bodies with each other. Nadja didn’t even do the news reading today, apparently she got switched with Manon, can you believe that?”

Adrien raised an eyebrow. “No, no I definitely can’t. That’s not normal at all – although if you think about it akumas are magic and for magical people, this is normal!”

He winced when he felt Plagg pinch his knee.

Marinette’s mother looked like she was worried for her daughter’s sanity. “Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that you can sleep in for a while longer. Thank goodness you didn’t get affected by it. I am so relieved.”

Adrien thought fast. “Actually, mom, Alya actually gave me a book to borrow, and I told her I would return it to her today. Can I go to her house to give it to her?”

“Marinette, there’s an akuma around! What if you get hit??”

“Too late for that.” He muttered, thinking back to his patrol with Ladybug the previous night. That must have been the time he got hit.

“What?”

“I’ll be completely safe, Mom. I promise! All the people who stayed in their house are safe after all!” Adrien said, hating how his suddenly high pitched voice became even higher with nervousness.

Her mother looked at him for a while before sighing. “Alright, then.”

Adrien was shocked. “Wait, really? You’re just going to let me go? Without asking questions?”

“Alya’s house isn’t far from here, and you are capable of handling yourself, Marinette. I just hope Ladybug and Chat Noir fix this soon.”

“Thank you!!” Adrien said with more enthusiasm than he intended.

“I’ll just be going then.” Mrs. Cheng finally left. “Be down soon, dear!”

“Wow, Plagg.” Adrien said. “Imagine not getting to explain everytime you are going out.”

Plagg looked like he was going to make a comment about marriage, but then he wisely let go of it.

\------------------------

“How did I know you got switched as Adrien?” Tikki paraphrased Marinette’s question nervously. “Um, you see, kwamis have special bonds with the soul of their holders! We can sense if something is wrong, and the minute I knew it wasn’t your soul in your body last night, I flew around Paris trying to find you, and I did!”

“Tikki, you could have gotten caught! Or worse, captured!” Marinette argued. “I’m just...I’m so glad you are here. With me. There’s no way I could handle this all on my own.”

Tikki giggled nervously.

\---------------------------------

_Just make something up!_ She said.

_He’ll believe it._ She said.

“I saw your soul travel through air, okay?” Plagg said grumpily. “I flew with your soul and it landed in Marinette’s room. Now don’t ask me questions.”

“You saw my soul flying??” Adrien looked disgusted.

“What did I just say?!”

\-----------------------------------

“You want me to call Adrien?? How am I going to explain to him how I unlocked his phone?! He’ll think I’m a creep for knowing his password!”

“Just say that you blew on his phone and the impression of his phone pattern appeared. You know Adrien, he trusts and respects you, he won’t even think about questioning you!”

Marinette became starry-eyed. “He trusts and respects me?”

“Marinette!”

“Right. Aw, look! His contact photo of me is our New Year’s selfie!”

“Marinette, focus!”

\-----------------------------------------

“Marinette, I really don’t care how you got into my phone,” Adrien said urgently. He himself was still recovering from how her wallpaper was one of his summer line shoots and there were red hearts next to his name.

_But she did have Alya’s name dotted with yellow ones..._ he thought sadly.

“You don’t?? I mean, that’s great!!” Marinette squeaked. “Listen, I had an idea.”

“We should go out after the akuma so that it’ll get us again and we’ll be switched back.” Adrien blurted out before she could say it.

“Yeah, that was exactly what I was going to say.” Marinette said, shocked.

“Great, so we’re in agreement.” Adrien said. “I’ve already got you covered here. I told your mom you had to return a book to Alya.”

Marinette quickly directed him towards her bookshelf and told him to grab any one he wanted and that her parents won’t notice.

“Did Natalie come to get you yet?” Adrien asked.

“No....”

“You getting out may be a little hard, and since schools are closed, I’m sure my father will have cancelled most of my extra-curriculars today. Look underneath my bed.” He instructed.

“Okay...” Marinette said, and did as he told her.

A minute later, her deadpan voice came through the phone. “Adrien, all I can see here is a box full of pictures of Ladybug.”

Adrien’s heart stopped beating. “Uh, really? Wow, who put them there?” He laughed nervously and he glared at Plagg cackling at him.

“You’re a Ladybug fanboy, huh?” She teased. “I should have guessed it from the pajamas.”

Adrien’s face turned redder than a fire truck when he realised he wore those to bed last night. “Anyway!” He coughed. “Look closer. My basketball is over there.”

“Ah, now I see it. Don’t worry, your idol’s pictures are safe.”

“Marinette, please don’t do this to me.” He begged.

“Alright, alright, I’ll spare you.” She giggled. “What do I need to tell Natalie?”

“Tell her that you want to go out and get some air at the park to practice some basketball.”

“Say what? You think she’ll believe me?? What if your father says something about you being safe from the akuma?”

“My game has been off, so my father will do anything to make sure I’m back on track.”

_Even let his son out at such a dangerous time?_

“Okay, I can try?”

\---------------------

“It didn’t work, Adrien.” Marinette wailed. “She insisted that your father insisted that you just stay home. What do we do now?? How are we supposed to meet?”

Adrien was silent on the other end. “Would it make a difference if the akuma just hit me again? It would still work right?”

“Are you saying that you are going to go after the akuma alone?!” Marinette gasped. “Adrien, that’s too dangerous.”

“Hey, I want my body back.” He retorted, then froze up. “Not that I hate your body – I mean, I didn’t like, check you out or anything – not that I wanted to – I mean you’re not undesirable or anything-“

“Adrien, calm down.” Marinette was blushing heavily, but now was not the time. She could freak out about this later.

“Marinette, trust me. You’re going to be normal again. Give me about an hour.” He promised.

“Where would you even go to find the akuma??” Marinette asked incredulously.

“I have a fifth sense about these things. And besides, I have the news reports.”

“Oh, you mean the ones ALEC Cataldi is doing??” Marinette rolled her eyes. Nadja’s reports were factual and to the point. Alec just focused on making fun of the akuma and narming the situation instead of reporting where it was last found.

“I can manage. Marinette, please, trust me. I got this.”

It felt weird hearing her own voice. It felt even more weirder to hear herself telling her to trust her. And it was even phrased how Chat often said those words to her-

NOPE, she wasn’t going to think about that. Chat’s identity was off limits. And to be honest, she was glad she didn’t get switched with him. Imagine that catastrophe.

“Okay. But you are texting me every minute and telling me where you are. I don’t want you getting hurt.”

Silence. Then, “I know. I won’t.” He said, softly.

“Please be careful, Adrien.” She said, before hanging up.

“Okay, Marinette, time to change out of your pajamas.”

  
“I have to WHAT?”

\--------------------

“Listen, I’ll be close by, but the minute we spot the akuma, I’m returning to your house.”

“What? Marinette can’t see you!!”

“Do you think I’m an idiot? Of course I won’t let her see me!”

“Ugh, fine.” Adrien climbed down Marinette’s ladder.

“Uh, excuse me? Are you going to face off a villain in your pajamas?”

Adrien froze and looked down at himself. “Uh oh.”

\----------------------

Marinette was having a severe meltdown in Adrien’s walk in closet until Tikki threw her Adrien’s scarf to tie around her eyes while she changed.

\----------------------------

“But what if I touch something?! Marinette will never forgive me! I will never forgive myself!”

“YOU ARE A MODEL. YOU KNOW WHAT A BRA IS!”  
  


“I can’t violate her like this! Even if my eyes are covered!”

“I will use Cataclysm on you if you don’t get over yourself and get dressed.”

“Hey, don’t touch Marinette’s body!” Adrien squawked as he pulled her pants on.

“Sometimes I really don’t like you. And this is one of those times.”

\-------------------

Marinette ended up wandering and pacing around his room while she constantly messaged him.

_‘Do not have breakfast with my parents. Grab something small and run out that door!’_

_‘ADRIEN?? ADRIEN??? ARE YOU THERE?? DID THE AKUMA GET YOU??’_

_‘If you don’t answer me within a minute, you are dead.’_

“Tikki!” Marinette said, suddenly, realising. “You can’t be here!”

“Right!” Tikki said, realising. “I should be in your house since Adrien’s not there anymore, but you’ll be alone!”  
  


“It’s better than Adrien figuring out his idol is the girl trapped in his body.” Marinette muttered. “Now go, I’ll see you there soon!”  
  


\-----------------------------

“Plagg, leave. NOW!” Adrien said as he charged with all of Marinette’s might at the robotic-looking akuma.

\-----------------------------------

“Chat Noir!” Ladybug ran to her partner, who was about to lunge at the akuma again.

“M’lady?” He asked. “It’s you, isn’t it? You’re not switched with anyone are you?”

“No, of course not. I wouldn’t have been able to transform if I was in someone else’ body.” She said without looking at him, her eyes searching the streets instead.

“Are you looking for someone?” Chat asked.

Marinette had to stop worrying. Adrien had to be back in his room, safe and sound.

“No one. Let’s go before the akuma gets anyone else.” Ladybug’s tone turned business-like.

“Gotta say, Bugaboo.” Chat Noir said happily as he joined Ladybug on the rooftops.

“It feels great to be back in my body again.”

“Uh huh, in that case, think before you jump, because if you and I get hit, I’m kicking your butt.”

“Actually, you’ll be kicking YOUR butt.”

A yo-yo bonked his head, forcing him to shut up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What the fuck did I even write


	18. Day 18: Pastries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien gets his hands dirty with flour, and Marinette is there to assist.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You had the angst, you had the crack. Now take the fluff!

Marinette expected to be rightfully mortified when her parents invited Adrien over for lunch when he stopped by at the bakery after his morning fencing lesson. 

She definitely hyperventilated even more when he accepted it happily. 

Even without the initial awkwardness, Marinette would have genuinely accepted, because the last thing she wanted to do was make him feel bad because of her own nerves. 

Adrien and her mother chatted away with each other in Mandarin, and she took the time to actually compliment his skills in the language, even if he retained his French accent a bit while speaking. 

Her father had more or less squeezed him to death in a tight hug the minute he said 'Yes' to his invitation. His love for him only grew when he discovered that Adrien loved puns as well. 

Most of the lunch was basically Tom and Adrien exchanging pun after pun while the ladies sat in questionable and exasperated silence. 

"Oh, but you are one of the most attentive ones whenever I come over to Marinette's class to show some of my recipes!" Tom complimented. 

Adrien flushed, but he continued. "Thank you, Mr. Dupain, but I am not exactly a cook, let alone a baker." 

Marinette's face fell when she saw how embarrassed Adrien looked. 

"I think he is extremely honest, Marinette." Sabine whispered in Marinette's ear. "Not a lot of people would have admitted that bravely." 

Marinette simply nodded. That was something she already knew about Adrien. 

"I'm really sorry-" he began uncertainly, but Tom cut him off. 

"Don't apologise, son." He said warmly. "It is never too late to learn anything." 

"In fact," her mother piped up. "If you have some time left, I'm sure Marinette would be happy to teach you!" 

The two teens choked on their food in perfect sync. 

"I really don't want to disturb her-"

"Maman, Adrien is really busy-" 

"Oh, I'm actually not that busy today." Adrien said shyly. 

"Then it's perfect!! I can't think of a better teacher than Marinette!" Tom said, grinning from ear to ear. 

Marinette wanted to dig a grave and bury herself in it to get away from her parents' blatant matchmaking. 

"I mean....I certainly would love to teach you, Adrien, but if you have things to do and other places to be-" 

"Like I said, Marinette, I'm really not that busy today." Adrien said, the warm smile never leaving his face. 

Marinette sighed. This was not going to go well. 

"Okay! I'd be happy to teach you!" She said cheerfully. 

Friends taught friends how to cook, right? It was no big deal.

Her father's cheering (which could rival that of a cheerleader) told her otherwise. 

\-------------  
"What if you guys have any customers?" Adrien asked, still shuffling behind her as Marinette got out all the equipment she needed. 

"Oh, don't worry, we always close the bakery for a few hours in the afternoon." Marinette said reassuringly. 

"Marinette, um..." Adrien's voice sounded strained.

"What's wrong, Adrien?" Marinette asked. He looked really uncomfortable. 

"The truth is, I only agreed because....I wanted to learn how to cook but....." 

"You were embarrassed?" Marinette guessed correctly. 

"Yeah." Adrien's face became even redder. 

"You know, it's okay if you don't want to learn." Marinette said, touching his arm and gently pulling him behind the counter. "No one is forcing you to." 

"No." Adrien's face was resolute even in his embarassment. "I want to learn. I guess, sometimes I feel bad because you, Alya and Nino are more street smart than I am and..." He hesitated even more. "... it's stupid." He mumbled. "Never mind." 

Marinette's heart sunk. Not knowing how to cook was something that was beyond Adrien's control. It wasn't his fault that his father had sheltered him so much. 

"Hey." Marinette gripped his shoulder, prompting him to look at her. "It's okay, you know? It's okay to not know things. It's okay to be new to them." 

"But don't most people our age know how to cook?" Adrien countered. 

"Believe me, there are many more people out there who do not know how to cook. And that's not a bad thing. Besides, you want to learn, don't you?" She asked, and he nodded. "Then you're halfway there already!" 

"Really? I mean, I don't want to burn anything-" 

"Adrien." Marinette said seriously. "Did I ever tell you about the time I set our kitchen on fire when I was 5?" 

"You were 5!! And wait, really?" 

"Yeah, I left the bread in the oven too long. And I tripped over a bag of flour while trying to get there. The kitchen was a mess. But my point is, age aside, everyone makes mistakes. The important thing is to move past them." 

"You will need a lot of patience for me, then." He said. 

Marinette still didn't understand why he was degrading himself so much, but she wasn't going to ask and make him more uncomfortable.  
Gathering up a bit of courage, she reached up and kissed his cheek. 

"I have all the patience in the world." She said encouragingly. 

She turned around at the most unfortunate moment, and didn't get to see how red his face became. 

\-----------  
Adrien carefully listened to what Marinette told him, not letting his attention divert to her hastily thrown ponytail, or the wisps of hair that framed her face or her freckles more than once. 

"So, I am going to teach you how to make a sponge cake. That's pretty easy." 

"Good." He said, diverting his attention back to the recipe she had quickly jotted down. 

Her handwriting was so pretty. 

"Wow, 6 eggs?" Adrien noted. "Do most recipes require that much?" 

"Well, it depends." 

"Is it easy to remember?" Adrien asked nervously, fidgeting with his apron.

"Don't worry about that yet." Marinette said kindly. "Baby steps, remember?" 

"Right, yeah, okay." Adrien nodded. 

"Okay, so we have six eggs right here." She put them all in a bigger bowl, and brought out a tinier one. "We are going to break each egg one by one in the small one, so that if we accidentally get any shells in the mix, we can easily remove them." 

Adrien nodded, and watched as Marinette carefully broke open two eggs one by one and dunked them in the bigger mixing bowl. 

"Now, you try." She handed him one egg. 

"Me??" 

"Yeah, you." Marinette laughed warmly. That sound was going to be the death of him. 

"What if I break something??" 

"You'll be fine. Messes are normal when it comes to cooking. That's why you wear an apron." She said, handing him an egg. 

"Okay..." Adrien said nervously. 

This was stupid, right? He could keep a cool head during Akuma battles and yet, here he was, shivering over breaking an egg. 

'Get it together, Agreste.' he scolded himself. 

He tapped the egg against the edge of the bowl, and winced when he realised from the larger crack that he tapped it a little too hard. He didn't spill a drop, though he did get a bit of shell in the mix. 

"Oh no, I-" 

"Good job, Adrien!" Marinette said comfortingly patting his back as she fished out the tiny piece of shell. "On to the next one!" 

\------------  
"You must think I'm a wimp." Adrien said half-jokingly, half-seriously as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. 

"No, I just think you are nervous." Marinette said, beating the eggs in the bowl. "Which is totally normal." 

Adrien's shoulders sagged in relief. Marinette never once complained if he got too jittery or nervous. She just calmly pointed out his mistakes and showed him how to correct them. 

Then again, was he surprised? This was Marinette he was talking about. 

"Now, grab the bag of powdered sugar." Marinette pointed. 

"This one?" Adrien asked. 

"No, that's flour. The other one." 

Adrien facepalmed when he realised he didn't even read how it was clearly labelled as 'Farine'. 

''Got it.'' He handed it to her, and she cut it open.   
"There's a bottle named 'Vanilla extract' on the second shelf. Grab that too."

She showed him how to measure out the sugar and the vanilla using the measuring cups. He did spill a bit of the vanilla, and his embarassment was quickly drowned out by his and Marinette's giggles while cleaning it up. 

"Now we're going to add the sugar and the vanilla together." She said, and he did as she said. 

"Adrien, I hope you know you are doing a great job." Marinette said, seeing how stiff he looked. 

"I-I am?"

"Yeah, and therefore-" she took the measuring cups from him, placed them on the counter and wrung his stiff hands. "-loosen up! You're fine!" 

Adrien didn't want to let go of Marinette's hands. Actually, who even cared about some cake - the feel of Marinette's smaller hands in his was perfect- 

"Alrighty, then." Marinette removed her hands from his and went over to grab the flour, leaving him disappointed. 

\------------  
"No, it's not like that." Marinette advised, trying her best not to giggle at Adrien holding the whisk like it was a battalion spear. 

"What do you mean by 'fold'?? How do you fold a liquid mixture???" Adrien was panicking. There were lumps in the batter and he was sure he was doing a terrible job. 

"May I?" Marinette asked, placing a hand on his arm. 

"May you what?" 

Marinette stood behind him and held his arms. "I can help you out, but only if you relax. Your arms are still too stiff."

If he RELAXED? How was he supposed to do that while he was feeling Marinette against his back?? 

"Actually, wait." Marinette grumbled. "This won't work. You're too tall. I'd have to come in front of you." 

"That's okay with me." He said too quickly. 

Adrien was sure he was going to combust into flames and die.

"Oh, o-okay." Marinette said and he moved behind to let her come in front. 

She grabbed the whisk and held the edge of the bowl with her other hand. "Okay, Adrien, put your hands on top of mine." 

Marinette's dad was definitely going to MURDER him if he walked through the door. If he didn't die of fright first, that is. 

He tentatively did as she asked, still placing a respectable amount of space in between her back and his chest. 

"You can see what I'm doing, right?" Marinette asked, turning her head to look at him. 

She really was the perfect height for cuddling. Her head would fit under his chin like two puzzle pieces. 

"Yeah, you're definitely small enough." He snorted and she glared at him. "Don't make me elbow you." She warned. 

She showed him how to fold the batter, and he followed the movement of her hands. 

Marinette, meanwhile, was hovering between panicking and focusing on how she could feel Adrien's breath on her neck. 

"Marinette, I think the batter is too watery." He said unsurely, and now she was shivering because he whispered it in her ear. 

"Oh, um, that's-that's okay." She said. "We just need more flour. It'll increse the volume of the batter, yeah." She muttered as she moved her hand from underneath his to grab the flour. 

As if his hand brushing against her arm wasn't enough, he had to lean against her by pressing his palm on the counter as he watched her add the flour. 

Even though all this, her back still wasn't touching his chest, and she knew he was still being respectful, but it drove her crazy. 

"Okay," she said, motioning for him to take her left hand again. He did, and her hand tingled with pleasure when she felt the rough callouses in his fingers, no doubt from playing the piano and from gripping his fencing sabre too hard. 

"Now I'm sure it'll be thicker." She said whisking the batter under his larger hand. 

"Um, Marinette?" He asked hesitantly. "Do you mind if you moved your hair to the other side? I can't see." 

"Oh! That's okay!" She hadn't even realised her ponytail had moved over her shoulder. 

She was about to slip her hand underneath Adrien's, but he beat her to it, using his left hand to lightly move her ponytail to the other side. 

His fingers had brushed against her neck, and by God, what would it be like if she felt his lips there instead- 

"Marinette?" He asked. "Are you okay?" 

"Yeah, yeah, I am fine!" She said, pulling herself out of her treacherous thoughts. 

That had to be the longest time anyone ever took to mix a bowl of batter. 

And even Adrien knew that. 

\----------  
While the cake baked in the oven, the two of them chatted for a while; the tension from earlier had completely vanished. For now. 

"I really hope I didn't mess up anything." Adrien confessed. 

If Marinette was being honest, there were a few mishaps. But they were really tiny, like him accidentally getting a piece of an eggshell in the batter, or accidentally adding too much sugar that Marinette had to scoop out later. 

But really, it wasn't that he was hopeless at cooking. With a little practice, he could definitely get to a place where he could fix himself a normal meal. 

"Adrien, you were fine. Believe me." Marinette said. "Your main problem is fear." 

"Yeah, Marinette, I'm scared I'll mess up." He said honestly. 

He didn't say it, but Marinette knew that he applied that principle to everything. He could give her a run for her money when it came to perfectionism.

"And that's exactly where you are going wrong." Marinette advised. "My dad always told me, that a good baker is never afraid to get dirty. And he taught me to apply that to every thing we do." 

"Wow." Adrien said in awe. "That's....no one ever told me it was okay to make a mistake." 

If Marinette didn't have any form of dignity, she would have stormed into Gabriel Agreste's office and yelled at him for brainwashing his son like this. 

"Mistakes are bound to happen along the way, Adrien. But if we don't make them, how will we grow? How will we learn if we already knew everything that was going to happen?" Marinette asked him. 

Adrien's eyes left the counter and moved to lock with hers. "Yeah, I guess so." He said. 

A DING! distracted both of them. 

"Oh, looks like it's ready." Marinette said. 

"Are you kids done already?" Tom peeked in from the door. 

"Yeah we are, Papa!" Marinette said, standing up from her place next to the oven with a steaming hot cake ready in her (mitten wearing) hands. 

"Kids, it looks wonderful!" Tom clapped his hands cheerfully. "We have to have a taste!" 

"We must." Marinette smiled radiantly at Adrien. "He's an absolute natural." 

"What, no!" Adrien said bashfully. "Marinette did most of the work, I just-" 

"Learnt how to beat eggs, how to measure out ingredients and learnt how to fold batter. He also helped me clear out the workspace." 

"Wonderful job, son!!" Marinette's father said and Adrien could see where Marinette got her enthusiasm from. 

"Thank you, Mr. Dupain." Adrien said nervously.

What would Gabriel Agreste think if he found out that his son was getting his hands dirty by god forbid, baking??

"Come on! I think the cake is almost cooled!" Marinette said, cutting it up. 

At the moment, though, Adrien guessed he didn't particularly care about what his father thought.


	19. Day 19: Rain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien found his shield from the rain. Others called it an umbrella. He called her Marinette.

"I did all my deliveries, Mom!" Marinette said, parking her bike outside the bakery. 

"Thanks a lot, sweetie!" Sabine said, looking up from the cash register. "Excuse me for a moment." She excused herself from the customer. 

"Here you go, mom." She handed over her purse full of money and tips. "Is there anything else I have to do?" 

"Not at the moment, Marinette." Sabine said, patting her cheek. 

"See you later!" Marinette said, leaving through the back door. 

"It's a good thing you got inside before it started raining." Tikki zoomed out of Marinette's purse. "The sky was getting darker by the minute." 

"I know!" Marinette remarked. "Especially since I didn't think to bring an umbrella. But I do have Lady Luck herself by my side, after all." She said, climbing up into her room and Tikki giggled. 

"Wow, look at that." Marinette said, peering out her window. "Looks like we'll have a summer storm upon us soon." 

Tikki flew up to look at the window next to her. "Yeah, I guess so. Hold on-" she said suddenly, peering close. 

"What's wrong, Tikki?" 

"I see Adrien." 

"Huh?" 

"Look!" She pointed. "He's sitting over there at the park." 

"Is he?" Marinette's eyebrows furrowed. "But his fencing lesson should have ended a while ago...."

When she turned to see Tikki staring at her with a deadpan look on her face, she said sheepishly. "Oh come on, I have everyone's schedule on my board." 

"Uh huh." Tikki said, though she rolled her eyes good naturedly. "Sure." 

Marinette turned her attention back to him. "I can't see him properly from here. I'm going to go up." She said, climbing up to the trapdoor which led to her balcony. 

"Ooh, don't stay there too long, Marinette." Tikki warned.

Marinette wasn't listening though. "Hey....does Adrien seem really off to you?" She asked her. 

"I can't really see properly from here  
Why do you say so?" 

"I mean, I may be wrong, but...." Marinette pulled out her phone, turned on her camera and zoomed in towards Adrien. "He looks really tired."

"Well, he does have a lot on his plate everyday..." 

"No, I mean, look." Marinette gestured. "His eyes are closed, his forehead is crinkled, he looks like he doesn't want to leave that park bench even though it is going to rain any second, and...he looks crushed for some reason." 

Tikki's jaw dropped. "I don't know if that observation is touching or scary." 

"Do you think I should go see him?" Marinette put her phone down. 

Tikki hesitated. "I don't know, Marinette. Adrien is a very private person. He's really only open to a few people." 

Marinette frowned. "Yeah, I guess you are right. Half the time when I ask him why he's sad, he forces a smile on his face and brushes it off as 'being tired'." 

Tikki nodded sympathetically. 

"I wonder what's going on." Marinette said, turning around and leaning against the railing. "From what little I gathered, things at his home aren't so great."

"Uh....Marinette?" Tikki said. 

"And he was so shy around Alya and Nino even last week." Marinette continued, not hearing Tikki. 

"Marinette," Tikki tried again. 

"I just wish I knew a way to help him without imposing on him too much." 

"Marinette, he's looking at you." Tikki said through gritted teeth. 

"W-what?" Marinette spun around and Tikki hid behind her shoulder. 

The image was a little blurry, but she could make out her blond friend looking up at her underneath the shade of a tree. 

He raised his hand to wave at her. 

Marinette gasped. "He's waving at me!" 

"Wave back!!" Tikki said. 

Marinette clumsily raised a hand in greeting. 

"Hey, you know, maybe I should atleast ask what's going on." She said. "It never hurts to try." 

Her phone rang in her pocket and Marinette jumped in fright. 

"Looks like he is one step ahead of you." Tikki noted.

"He's calling me." Marinette stated it like a fact, even though she was still surprised. 

"Hello?" She answered. 

"So, how long have you been watching me?" His voice was deeper and huskier, and yet it had a teasing lilt to it. 

Marinette winced, and Tikki looked like she was two seconds away from bursting into laughter. 

"Um....what are you talking about? I just noticed you." She played it off innocently. 

"Just teasing, Marinette." He said, and when Marinette looked at him from her balcony, she found out he was already staring. 

"O-okay." Marinette sighed in relief. "So, what are you doing in the park?" 

"Uh.... I was actually just done with a fencing lesson." 

"And you're not going home? It looks like it's going to rain, Adrien." 

He didn't answer for a while. 

"Hello? Adrien?" 

"Would you think I'm pathetic if I told you I'm actually avoiding going home?" He said in a small voice. 

"No, of course not!" Marinette said. "What... what's wrong?" She asked softly. "Is your car stuck in traffic or something?" 

"Nope, I walked to the school." He plainly admitted to her that something was indeed wrong, but he was still toeing around the subject. 

"Do you want to talk about it?" Marinette was already descending down towards her room. 

"I highly doubt you would want to hear it." He countered. "It's dumb." 

\------------

"It can't possibly be dumb if it's worrying you." Marinette's voice crackled through his phone. 

He flinched a little when he felt a raindrop land on the back of his neck. 

Darn. He didn't have an umbrella with him. 

His habitual instinct to bottle up his feelings was clawing at him. 

But there was only so much one person could take without exploding, however unrealistic said exploding may be. 

"Adrien, I don't know if Alya and Nino have noticed it, but I can see that you've been really glum all week. I didn't want to pry too much because you looked like you didn't want to talk about it. But how long is this going to go on?" 

"Marinette, I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to shut you out and hurt you-"

"I didn't mean that." She corrected him gently. "I meant - I'll be back in a while, mom- how long are you going to keep everything locked up inside?" 

"Well, no one has cared enough to listen." He said bitterly, wiping away the drop that landed on his cheek, his thoughts going to his dad. "Except for you, of course." 

"So talk to me." Marinette pleaded. "I care." 

"Marinette, you deserve better than me burdening you with all of my-" he cut himself off when he heard a beep. 

"Lesson number one," Marinette's real voice made him flinch. He looked up to see her standing next to the bench. She was holding a vaguely familiar black umbrella. It was closed for the moment. "Don't ever call yourself a burden. The people who love you will never call you one." 

"I guess my dad doesn't love me then." He muttered under his breath before he realised what he was saying. 

"What?" Marinette gasped. 

Oops. She had heard him. 

What was the point anyway? He might as tell someone other than Plagg. 

He scooted away from his bag to give her more space to sit on the bench.  
"Today is my mom's birthday." He said quietly. 

Marinette's mouth formed an 'O'. "I'm... I'm so sorry." She sat down next to him, still giving him a bit of space. 

"I had a bit of a spat with my dad this morning." He said, subconsciously noticing how she turned sideways in her seat to look at him better. 

"What happened?" She asked. 

"I never thought I'd say this without feeling guilty." He murmured. "But my father is the absolute worst." 

Marinette always understood the implication that Gabriel Agreste was a strict man. She didn't realise he was this bad. 

She had never seen Adrien look so done with anything. 

The raindrops fell faster, prompting both of them to look up. 

Marinette quickly opened the umbrella, shielding both of them and his bag from the rain. 

"You kept it." Adrien said, staring up at the black fabric of the umbrella. 

"Of course I did." Marinette said. The whole gum incident from a year ago still brought a twinge of embarrassment with it. She still couldn't believe she had judged him so quickly. 

"I'm glad you did." He said, smiling weakly at her. "It was my mother's." 

Marinette's jaw dropped. "Why didn't you tell me?? I would have given it back to you immediately!" 

"Nah, you're putting it to much better use than I ever did." He said, shrugging. 

"Adrien, are you absolutely sure?" 

"Yes, I am." He said seriously, before his phone dinged with a text. 

"One second." He groaned when he saw it was Natalie. She was asking him if fencing was done yet. He sent her a quick reply saying that he was on his way and that he would only stick to the sidewalk and not cross any roads. 

Maybe he was a little bitter, but he didn't care. 

"You have to go back?" Marinette asked him hesitantly. 

"Unfortunately." He said. 

Marinette narrowed her eyes at him thoughtfully. 

"What is it?" He asked. "Do I have something on my face?" 

Marinette shook her head. "Come on." She said, holding out her hand. "I'll walk you to your house." 

Adrien's lips raised in an amused smirk. "I certainly don't mind the company." He took her hand and got up. 

"And we'll walk extra slow. If you want." She said, looking up at him. 

She didn't have that patronising glare Natalie had, neither did she give him that chill he felt whenever his father focused his cold, unfeeling glare on him. 

"That sounds perfect." He said, strapping his bag on his shoulder. 

\------------  
At first, they were walking hand in hand, Marinette was holding the umbrella and listening as Adrien talked. 

"This morning my dad called me to his office." He explained. "I thought he was going to say something about Mom. Anything, really. We never talk about her." 

Marinette's heart panged painfully at that. 

"But as it turns out, he only called me to lecture me on how my fencing points were going down. Of course they were going down, he scheduled two back to back photoshoots on the same day!" He growled frustratedly. "I'm sorry, I know he just wants me to excel in everything, but sometimes it just feels like too much." 

"That's... that's not fair." Marinette said angrily. "He can't dump so much on you and expect everything to be perfect. Wanting your child to succeed is one thing but making such a huge deal out of their failures is another. That's horrible!" 

Adrien felt savage pleasure run through his veins at Marinette's indignation on his behalf. 

"I asked him about Mom's birthday, and he just went, 'I don't have time for that, Adrien.' I-he-just- he didn't even listen to me! Last week I told him that I would be happy for him if he moved on and he blew up at me! He told me that I didn't love my mom as much as he did if I was so willing to forget her. And today, today finally I asked him what the hell happened to mom after an entire year and he flat out yells at me to not ask him questions! And when I say that I'm absolutely sick of being left in the dark for so long I'm supposedly not aware of my place!!" He was bursting and he knew it. Whatever he had been holding in for an entire year was pouring out like molten lava from an active volcano. 

"Wait, Adrien." Marinette's face had gone white, and for a moment he thought he scared her. "What do you mean 'what happened to her'? She's....is she not dead?" 

Adrien's shoulders slumped. "She's.... she's..." He bit his lower lip to prevent a sob from escaping. "I don't even know if she's alive. She disappeared." 

"She...huh?" 

"Even the day before that, everything was okay. My parents and I were having a huge dinner, and we were all laughing and...and we were all happy. The next day I woke up to..." He sniffed. "I woke up to the cops surrounding our house and asking my dad questions and him shooing them all out of the house." 

"I tried asking him what happened, Marinette. I was begging him to tell me where Mom was. He just dragged me into my room and told me to stay there. I supposed once he wasn't in the heat of the moment he would tell me. But he still didn't. He still hasn't." Marinette's hand snaked around his arm, gently turning him to look at her while tears roamed down his face. 

"Adrien..." Marinette was tearing up too. She reached up to gently touch his face and wipe away the tear from his eye.

"I...I don't know what I have to do to make him finally realise that I want to know what happened. Should- should I do a thousand more photoshoots without a hitch? Should I get ten more fencing medals? What?! What should I do??" 

His carefully constructed mask of Adrien Agreste, teen supermodel faded away, leaving behind a scared, confused boy who just wanted his mother. 

"Come here, you." Marinette whispered, wrapping her free arm around his neck. He clung to her with both his arms, sobbing into her shoulder. 

Marinette wanted to let go of the umbrella so she could hug him fully, but she knew that he would just be in more trouble if he went home dripping wet. Even though it physically hurt her to do it, she held on to him while shielding them from the rain. 

"I miss her so much Marinette." His voice was barely recognisable. He sounded like a pitiful, hungry kitten mewling for food. "I wish I could see her, I wish she could come back and my father would go back to normal." 

Marinette let a few tears fall down her face as she let him cry, but held on to the rest. Adrien was always the optimistic, supportive one. She had to be strong for him, for once. 

"I don't know what to do. I don't even know what to do with myself." He sobbed. 

"Adrien. Listen to me." She didn't let go of him. "I can't...I just can't imagine the amount of strength it would take for you to bear all this. I didn't even realise you were holding back so much-" she let out a teary laugh into his shoulder. "-that's how good of an actor you are. You are constantly stressing about how to please your father, and trying to mourn about your mother and yet- and yet, you didn't let it stop you from being your own person - and god, what an amazing person you are." 

"I - I am?" He sniffled, pulling away from her. 

"Yes!" She said it like it was the most obvious thing in the whole world. "You always make time to help out everyone even in your busy schedule, you are the most supportive person I know, you are one of the best friends ever, and you still try to see the good in everyone you meet! Hell, you had more patience with Lila than I did!" 

He didn't answer, instead he quietly wiped his tears away, thinking over what she said. 

"You've gone through so much and you didn't let it change who you are inside. You deserve to mourn your mother the way YOU choose to do it. You have every right to move on whenever and however you want without getting cross questioned about it. And believe me, the day you make sure your dad knows all this, and I know you will, all of your friends will be there by your side. I know I will." 

"What did I do to deserve you?" He asked her. 

Marinette sucked in a breath. Even under the darkening hue of the sky, even though his cheeks were tear stained, even though part of their pants were steadily getting wetter by the minute, all she could focus on was the devoted look of wonder on Adrien's face. 

No one had ever looked at her like that. Adrien Agreste did not look at anyone like that. 

"You....um, you kindly gave your umbrella to a girl who misjudged you horribly." She said, phrasing it like a joke but meaning it seriously. 

"Well, the girl did um-sorry." He said, wiping his face quickly on a sleeve. It was so cute and so endearing and so unlike him it made Marinette's heart flutter. "The girl did have a good reason to judge me. What I did really must have looked wrong to an outsider." 

How did he do it? How did he constantly defend his friends even while being on the brink of breaking himself? 

"Do you still want to go home?" Marinette asked hesitantly. 

"Do you want to walk even more slowly?" Adrien asked hopefully. 

"Oh, definitely." She said, looping her free arm around his. 

They walked in the rain, Marinette's head on Adrien's shoulder,both of them stepping into the shallow puddles and unintentionally ruining both their shoes. 

Footwear was the last thing on both of their minds. 

"Marinette?" 

"Hm?" 

"You are a good person." 

"Oh! Uh...you mean in a good way?" She winced. That was an incredible lame answer. 

"In the best way possible."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually cried while writing this. I don't know why.


	20. Day 20: Photoshoot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Today's Hot Deets: Looks like someone is losing face this fair Parisian afternoon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This might be the most entertaining chapter I have ever written.

"Hey there!" Adrien said, cheerfully sliding into the bench next to her. 

Marinette squeaked,let her phone fly up in the air and caught it a second later. 

"Really?! Do you have to do that every single time?" Marinette hissed at him. 

"Are you the snake or am I?" He said lazily, leaning back and extending an arm along the seat of the bench. 

Marinette let her eyes dart around the slightly crowded courtyard. 

"Well, you look chipper." Marinette said offhandedly as her eyes landed on a gaggle of admirers hiding Lila from their view. 

"I am, actually." He said. 

“Why did you take a half day off?” Marinette asked. “I was worried!”

Adrien smiled at her and said, “My father and I needed to talk for a bit.”

“You did?” Marinette asked. “How did it go?”

“Does him saying that ‘this change in behaviour is startlingly upsetting’ count?”

“What change in behaviour?? Seriously, what’s your father’s deal?”

“Don’t worry, Marinette.” He placed a hand on her shoulder. “He said he needed to think and shooed me to school. I was glad I came because I just had to see you.”

Marinette looked away from him for a bit, telling her not to get her hopes up. Friends love to see each other. Friends who made plots to take down a liar HAD to see each other. 

“Are you and him going to be okay?” She asked, finally looking at him. 

“We’ll be fine.” Adrien said. He didn’t brush it off or change the subject. He really believed it. And for now, maybe that was enough. 

“So, what happened yesterday?” Marinette asked, eagerly.

Both Adrien and Lila were absent from school the previous day, and Marinette had been nothing short of a fidgety mess. She expected Alya to chide her for being too jealous again, but even she told her that she was worried a little, because Lila seemed to bother Adrien too much, especially when it came to touching him unnecessarily. 

She still didn’t know Lila was a liar, but it was still a start. 

“You are going to love me so much.” Adrien said giddily. 

“I already do love you, you doof, now tell me what happened!” Marinette said, impatiently shaking his arm.  
If either of them noticed a red kwami freeze in her owner’s purse or a black cat one choke on his cheese, they didn’t say a word. 

“Okay, so the day started out like this.” Adrien began.

“Lila was already getting a bit of criticism from Guiseppe, okay?” Adrien said. “Like, long long ago, even before we talked. He was being really gentle with her, because Italians look out for each other I guess.” He said the last part in a completely deadpan tone and it made Marinette laugh. 

“Recently, however he has been....let’s say harsher with her. Because let’s face it, she’s more focused on how she can invade my personal space instead of making the clothes look good.” He muttered bitterly. 

Marinette couldn’t help but notice that he looked exhausted. More tired now that the happy satisfaction had faded away a bit. She slung an arm around his shoulder. “Are you okay? She didn’t threaten you or-“

“She wouldn’t threaten me directly. She knows what is at stake if she does. But she threatened YOU, which is as good as coming after me. It’s a small price to pay, Marinette.” He smiled tiredly at her.

“It’s not worth her treating you like a fresh piece of meat.” She said crossly, glaring in her direction across the courtyard, even if Lila couldn’t see her. “I considered calling you so many times yesterday and telling you to call the plan off. I couldn’t concentrate on anything. All I could see was you in her clutches.”

“Hey, I am made of stronger stuff than that.” Adrien said with a sudden burst of confidence that made Marinette raise an eyebrow. “She doesn’t scare me. And it is going to be worth it.” He scowled. “She’s going to back off from you, and everyone else, and she’s going to get what she deserves. Hell, I’m not even mad at her name-dropping. I thought she did it to get attention, which is a pretty human thing to do. But then I saw her frame you, and now I know she’s had it out for you for a long time because you didn’t take her nonsense. She is mad she got caught, Marinette. And that’s something I can never forgive.” His voice was biting and cold, but Marinette completely understood his intentions. 

“You are so brave for doing this.” Marinette muttered. 

“She’s only letting me do it because she knows I can take away everything she has worked for.” Adrien smirked. 

“What happened then?” Marinette said, diverting him to their main subject. 

“Oh, right. So she had been getting tips and pointers from him on how to pose during her solo shots instead of calling ME to pose for them too because we have ‘chemistry’.” Marinette felt her stomach clench. “Seriously, you’d think she’d be happy to get to hog the spotlight. I seriously think she’s doing this to annoy me. Especially since she knows you weren’t scared of her threat.” 

Actually she was terrified about her threat, because it had to do with him, but that wasn’t what she was feeling now. She was angry. The red hot kind of anger. Lila wasn’t just someone who had no idea of boundaries. She knew what they were, even had a proper knowledge of them, but only made herself appear that way when it was convenient for her. She definitely wasn’t above using them to PUNISH Adrien if she saw it fit. 

“You may have to hold me back several times during this conversation.” Marinette growled. “I can’t stand her, I can’t stand what she’s doing to you.” 

Adrien skimmed his hand on her upper back, toeing the line of comforting and respectful. 

To an outsider they definitely looked like a couple returning from fighting a long and hard w war, and were tending to each other’s wounds. 

“And then?” Marinette prompted.

“Today, I walked up to Guiseppe and asked him what he thought of Lila, pretending to be a messenger on my father’s behalf. And you’ll never believe what she told me.” He said.

“What?”

“He told me that Lila was ABYSMAL.” Adrien was amping it up, and he was enjoying it. “Not that she didn’t have potential of course, she just needed a better coach.”

Marinette made a face, but she let Adrien continue.

“So, I played the sympathetic card. I told him that Lila was extremely sensitive and didn’t take well to criticism. And like I expected, he told me she had to get used to it, because that was how the modelling industry was. And I should have known that, considering I used to get my fair share of criticism.”

“You? Getting criticised?” Marinette asked dubiously. 

“Other than my father, I used to get it a lot from the public, but that was a few years ago.” He shrugged. “It’s pretty normal. You just gotta learn to take it properly and use them as a learning curve instead of insults.”

“That seems fair...” Marinette said. “Although I can’t see Lila taking that in stride.”

“She would do it to maintain her image, but on the inside, no, I guess.” Adrien shrugged. “But that’s not the route I went for. I told Guiseppe to take out his criticism on me so Lila would feel better. I guess he does have a soft spot for her or she charmed him enough for him to agree. You should have seen my performance, Marinette, I think I couldn’t have performed that badly if I had my head on the line.”

Of course, he didn’t mention Plagg hiding in his clothes and biting at her fingers whenever she subtly tried to touch his chest.

“Wait, stop.” Marinette raised a hand. “I can see where you are going with this. You make her think you are giving her what she wants, but really, you are making everyone else think that you are the one messing up, so that your father is alerted about it without making it seem like you are targeting Lila for no reason.” 

“Oof, you are a mind reader.” Adrien high fived her raised hand.  
“Well, you are the expert manipulator.” She winked. 

“So yeah, like I expected, my father gave me a huge lecture about not performing well in my shoots, and that was when I dropped the bomb on him about Lila, how she was the one who wasn’t exactly ‘Front Cover of the Weekly Material’.”

(“Are you questioning my judgement, Adrien? Miss Rossi is an excellent candidate to be a model.”

“Yeah, if being a model meant being pretty!” Adrien said. “Aren’t you the one who told me that a model shouldn’t just model clothes, he should enhance them? I’m not questioning your judgement, father. I’m honouring it.”

That made Gabriel raise an eyebrow. 

“Besides, my shoots with Lila are statistically one of the brand’s lowest rated shoots, if not just among my own.” He already knew his father knew that, but it wouldn’t hurt to drive the point home.

“Certainly you’ve worked with more....unprofessional people.” He said, but Adrien knew even he had to concede what Lila’s presence was doing to his performance.

“I’ve been able to manage working with them. I can’t do that with her. She insists that I be present even for her solo shoots. She acts like she’s the one running the shoot. Models aren’t supposed to have opinions about what they wear and pose for, and if they do, they should have thought about it before they signed their contract.”

Gabriel looked appropriately shocked as one would be when one’s son managed to quote his words perfectly. 

“Give me one good reason why I must take action with Miss Rossi instead of schooling you to be better, Adrien.”

On the inside, Adrien was whooping. To everyone else, it may seem like the Agreste men were about as close as absolute strangers, despite being family, but in reality, they both knew each other’s moves and future actions perfectly. 

Which is why he didn’t mention Lila attacking his friends. Or her touching him inappropriately. His father would not care less about either of those things, and thus would not help his argument.

There were days Adrien wished his relationship with his father wasn’t akin to a chess match which was only played out of fear of being checkmated, but today, he felt fortunate, glad even, because he was able to use that to achieve what he wanted.

“Because taking action is your best option, Father. I am the face of the brand, and if it gets out that my performance is less than stellar, automatically it will affect the entire business, and in extension, you.” Adrien narrowed his eyes and stood his ground, refusing to budge until he got his way.

Gabriel removed his glasses and put them on the table, rubbing his temples. 

“Or, you could always allow these...less-than-stellar headshots to be released, and risk the negative repercussions.” Adrien said innocently.

Gabriel stared at his son, his cold, calculating eyes meeting Adrien’s. 

“I need to think about this. Now go practice your piano. I have work to do.”)

“Wait, that’s it?” Marinette asked, stumped.

“Don’t worry, I drilled the point home pretty well.” Adrien said, optimistically patting her hand. “I think all we have to do is wait until my father does his thing.”

“You know, I don’t even care if she isn’t fired as a model.” Marinette frowned. “I just don’t... I just don’t want you to be hurt.”

A pause later, she said. “Alya noticed too, you know. That I am not the only one who is uncomfortable with her.” 

“Really?” Adrien said, relieved. 

“Yeah, I guess she lost her shine towards Lila since I got expelled.”

Alya Cesaire was a force to be reckoned with. And not one that should be taken for granted.

“You know what?” Marinette said suddenly. “I think that, no matter what happens from here on out, we stay away from her. We don’t give her opportunities to hurt us or anyone else. I mean it,” She said, when she looked at Adrien’s dubious expression. “I don’t want to get anyone hurt because I am too hell bent on delivering justice when I really should have been cautious.”

“Marinette, justice is important too.” Adrien said. “You have suffered so much because of her. You had to deal with everyone not believing you, because she was too good at playing the victim. I’d say she pretty much deserves what’s coming to her.”

“Then let karma do it.” Marinette said. “You played your part, you played it exceedingly well, but let’s stop here. I am willing to put on the kindness act, but I say we let her get what’s coming to her by herself from now on.”

“You...um,” Adrien said, rubbing the back of his neck. “You sounded like me. Like the time I said that it would be better if we stayed away. Except it sounds like common sense when you are the one saying it.”

“ I really underestimated your advice at the time. Now I understand what you meant.”

“It would have worked if Lila wasn’t the vengeful kind. I guess I really didn’t know her then.”

“Honestly? Same here.” Marinette muttered.

“What happened while I was away for today? Did she do anything?” Adrien asked, his expression darkening.

“Oh the usual.” Marinette scoffed. “She bumped into me while I was trying to get out of my seat and fell, and I helped her up like the kind person I am and a bunch of students fussed around her. She was only doing it because Alya and Nino were asking me if you were sick and she was trying to overhear us. She couldn’t do anything else that much in front of the teacher.” Marinette said. “Oh, and she was continually bragging about the summer line you two were doing.”

“Wait, she was?” Adrien was miffed. “There are witnesses for that, right?”

“Yeah? In fact, I’m betting that’s what she bragging about right this second.”

“Marinette,” Adrien said seriously. “That’s confidential information. Nothing, absolutely nothing about that is supposed to come out to the public unless the marketing team gives the green light. She’s directly violating her contract.”

Marinette’s eyes widened as she pulled out her phone and scrolled through it. “I think you need to see this then.”

Adrien peered at the screen. It was Lila’s Twitter account.  
“Can’t wait to pose with @adrienagrestebrand for @Gabrielbrand’s summer fashion line! XOXO”  
She had paired it with a selfie she had no doubt taken with her wearing one of the designs from her dressing room.  
“Marinette, she tagged my father’s OFFICE account. If Natalie sees this, she’s a goner.” Adrien gasped.

“Oh look, it’s Gabriel Agreste’s representative calling me himself!” Lila’s shrill voice made the two of them go still in their places. 

They were far away, they couldn’t hear what everyone was saying, their backs were turned so they couldn’t see their reactions, but Adrien and Marinette could tell they were tensed just like them, in a much, much more different way.

“No, I am not.” Lila chirped. “In fact I think our shoot just gathered a lot more traction before its release itself! You don’t need to thank me, Miss Sancoeur.” She simpered in what she obviously thought was a charming voice.

Adrien loudly facepalmed. “I didn’t think she’d be this stupid.” 

“Huh?” Lila said, and Marinette’s hand gripped Adrien’s tightly. 

They looked at each other, locking gazes. 

Whatever was going to happen, it was going to be intense.

“What??” Lila gasped. “No, wait-“ she pushed through the crowd and ran outside the school gates, leaving everyone staring at her bewilderedly.

“Oh my god.” Adrien said, breathlessly as Marinette’s head slumped on his shoulder in heavy relief.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> @Lila roleplayer: You were saying, hon?


	21. Day 21: Magic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How does one tame a beast called 'True Love'?

By the time school ended, the news that Lila had lost her modeling contract became common knowledge. 

Almost everyone was sympathetic towards her, giving her hugs and words of kindness over her sniffles and cries. 

Chloe was...Chloe. Sabrina was one of the kinder ones who were there for Lila. Alya and Nino gave her their condolences but didn't stay there too long. Marinette and Adrien carefully avoided her.  
Good thing they did, because they completely missed the deadly glares she sent their way.

The class was gathered together in the locker room, gathering all their bags and books, but Lila's plight seemed to be the topic on everyone's mind. 

"I feel so bad for her!" Rose was saying, to several people agreeing with her. "She's in the bathroom, she's crying her eyes out! She wouldn't let any of us in." 

Adrien felt a twinge of pity before he shoved it away. He hadn't made Lila tweet about the designs so carelessly. 

His father wouldn't have listened to him because he cared about his son's judgement. He knew that for sure. If he ever expelled Lila, it would have been because he really saw her as a threat to his brand. 

He didn't talk to Marinette much that day, and neither of them so much as looked at each other beyond awkward glances. 

They really didn't know what to make of the situation, but they didn't want to do anything to escalate it either. 

"Adrien!" Kim's voice boomed through the locker room and he winced. He really should have seen this coming. 

"Yeah?" He said, putting on his bravest smile as he turned to face his class, everyone of whom were looking to him for answers. 

Marinette was staring at him nervously, but he could see her eyes boring into his side, giving him the little support he craved so much. 

"What exactly happened out there?" Kim asked curiously. 

"Yeah, dude." Nino said. "Your dad is a huge downer, but even he can't take this away from Lila without a proper reason. That's literally illegal." 

"Uh...." Adrien hesitated, not sure how to respond to this without making this even worse. 

"Hey," Alya nudged him. "None of us blame you, if that's what you are thinking." 

"Yeah." Alix said. "Your old man is crazy. No offence."

"Oh none taken at all." Adrien said so quickly everyone chuckled. "Listen, everyone, I am not really sure I could say this without imposing on Lila's space. But yeah,I do know the reason why this happened, and it is a fair reason too. It could have caused a catastrophe. But I can't really say it without breaking model-designer confidentialities." Adrien said. "Sorry, everyone. I feel for Lila, I do. But there's nothing I can do to fix her problem." 

Marinette hummed appreciatively. That was a wise decision. He couldn't have said anything without violating his own code of secrecy. And he didn't make himself seem like a mean jerk towards Lila either. 

Everyone around the room either sighed or shrugged. Adrien breathed a sigh of relief in Marinette's direction. She gave him a small, encouraging smile. 

Every head in the room turned when they heard the door creak open. Lila walked in, smiling and making eye contact with everyone. 

Marinette tried to not gawk at her. From what Rose had said, Lila was absolutely broken from hearing the news. She said she had been crying her eyes out.   
She looked like she hadn't broken a sweat. 

"What's going on, everyone?" Lila asked curiously. "Is everything alright? Why are you all looking at me?" 

The hairs on the back of Marinette's neck stood up. Something wasn't right. She sounded too casual about everything. 

"We were all just worried about you Lila!" Rose said. "Are you feeling better now?" 

"Yes I am, Rose." She sighed, bringing everyone's attention back to how disappointed she was. 

"I'm sure another opportunity will come to you. Keep your head up." Mylene said encouragingly as Lila walked to her locker. 

"I was so disappointed that Mr. Agreste didn't even try to hear out my side of the story." Lila said, eying Adrien like a hawk, even as she opened her locker. "But, of course, everyone here knows that you don't question his judgement!" She let out a fake laugh. "Adrien knows that better than anyone else, I'm willing to bet." 

Everyone's eyes turned expectantly towards Adrien, and he slumped his shoulders. Really? Did she have to set him up like that? 

Marinette, however, wasn't focusing on Adrien. She had eyes only for Lila, looking at her up and down to see if she had sprouted any abnormalities. 

There was no way she was letting another Akuma target her friends. 

"Listen, Lila." Adrien said seriously. "I really don't think my father is that easily persuaded. He IS a stickler for the rules."

Lila blinked rapidly. "You're not even going to try?" 

Marinette let out a low growl when she saw Adrien shift uncomfortably from one foot to another. 

"Cheer up, Lila!" Kim said out of nowhere. "I'm sure Adrien will find a way to help you." 

Adrien liked Kim, but he really really wished he could punch him just then. 

"Thank you so much, Kim!" Lila said, grabbing his arm. "You are so sweet!" 

Kim stared down at Lila, and then his eyes narrowed at the wall in front of him. 

When you've fought as many akumas as Marinette did, it was impossible to not notice when one was around. 

"You will help her, Adrien?" Kim's voice had a razor sharp edge to it. "Right?" He snapped at the model on the other edge of the room. 

The entire room flinched. "Okay, what's gotten into you, Kim? I thought we weren't forcing Adrien to do anything drastic." Alya pointed out. 

"It's his fault Lila lost her opportunity!" He roared, making everyone except Lila, who was still holding on to his arm, jump. 

"Excuse me?" Adrien said, offended. 

"Yeah! You and your privilege!! You and your father are the reason a poor innocent girl's dreams were crushed!!"

"'Priviliege'?" Alix piped up. "I didn't know that word was in your vocabulary, Meathead!" 

"Kim, what's gotten into you??" Max urged his best friend. 

"Lila, let go of Kim's arm."

Everyone turned to look at their petite class president, who looked like a prowling lioness ready to attack. 

"What??" Lila's jaw dropped. 

"I said, let go of Kim's arm." She ordered. 

"Should I let go of your arm, Kim?? You're the only one who really supported me here." She fluttered her eyelashes at him. 

"Why should she let go of my arm, Marinette??" Kim lashed out. "You're nothing but a bully who is going after Lila for no reason!! What did she do to you??" 

Adrien's brain was working fast. Something was terribly amiss, but he had no idea what it was. 

"Oh for Pete's sake." Marinette rolled up her sleeves without breaking a sweat.

She made an effortless running leap over the benches in the room, making everyone shout for Marinette's sake. 

"Marinette!!" Lila shrieked, holding on to Kim even more now that she was close. 

Marinette reached out and ripped off the left hairband in Lila's braids. 

"Marinette what are you doing?? You're hurting my hair!!" Lila wailed, letting go of Kim's arm finally to clutch at her braid. 

"Marinette what's gotten into you??" Alya shouted. 

Instead, Marinette calmly pulled at the purple hairband, and the entire class let out a collective gasp of shock when a purple butterfly flew out of it. 

"An Akuma!" Nathaniel yelled, and almost everyone dropped their bags to run out of the locker room. 

"Marinette!!" Alya yelled for her best friend. "Get away from it!" 

A strong arm wrapped around her middle, and suddenly she was being hauled back by Adrien, her back pressing against his chest. 

"Dudes, let's get out of here!" Nino said, grabbing both Alya and a surprisingly grudging Lila out of the locker room. 

Adrien and Marinette were about to follow them, but something caught Marinette's eye. 

"Adrien, wait!!" Marinette caught his arm. "Kim isn't back to normal!!" 

She was quite right of course. It looked like someone had left Kim on autopilot. He was still growling and glaring at them, although he suddenly had nothing to say. 

"Lila's akuma's effects haven't worn off yet!" Adrien realised. 

"Because Ladybug hasn't purified the akuma- wait no!!" Marinette slapped a hand to her mouth when the butterfly flew into one of Kim's sweatbands, turning it dark purple. 

Adrien didn't even stop to think as he charged at Kim, trying to tear his sweatband off before he got akumatised. 

He was too late. Kim had already succumbed to Hawkmoth's whim, and Dark Cupid's red and black arm threw him away from his grasp. 

Adrien's back hit the lockers painfully. He groaned in pain, with just enough time for Marinette to scream his name.

He opened his eyes barely enough to see an arrow being set into his crossbow. 

"Wait, no- don't-" Adrien raised his arms in front of him, bracing for the impact. 

It never came. 

All he felt was something kicking his legs, and he opened his eyes to see Marinette crumple into his arms after getting hit by Dark Cupid. 

"Marinette, no!!" He said frantically, holding her to his chest as he shook her. "Marinette, wake up, wake up!" 

Dark Cupid raised another arrow to pummel Adrien with as well. 

Adrien caught sight of what he was trying to do, and defiantly stared him down. 

"Don't you even dare." He hissed fiercely at the Akuma, cradling Marinette's head close to him. 

Hawkmoth's mask appeared for a brief few seconds and flickered out.

"I could just hit you, but that would be too easy." He smirked at him. "She'll take care of you anyway." 

"Wha?" Adrien said dumbly, watching the winged akuma flew away to find his next target. 

His mind flashed painfully as he remembered what Dark Cupid's power was. 

Oh wait, that was not his mind. That was his jaw getting painfully punched by the girl in his lap. 

"Get away from me!" Marinette shouted, watching him land on the cold hard ground a few inches away from her. 

Yep. Just as he expected. Her lips had turned black. And she was glaring at him like he was dirt underneath her shoe. 

"Marinette, listen to me." Adrien said. It hurt to even speak. His jaw was throbbing with pain. "This isn't you!! You're under a spell!" 

Marinette cackled - a painful, evil, horrible sound he never wanted to hear again. 

"What wasn't me?" She echoed mockingly

"Hey!" Plagg zoomed out of his shirt. "You leave my boy alone!!" 

"Plagg!!" Adrien tried to grab him, horrified.

"She won't remember! So stop grabbing me!" Plagg dodged his grip. "Transform!" 

"Get out of the way!" Marinette's evil form swatted at Plagg. 

"Adrien-" he finally grabbed him and stuffed him into his pocket. 

"No." Adrien said, getting up on his feet. His kneecaps were definitely busted. "I can't transform." He panted. "I won't transform."

Marinette grabbed the front of his shirt and held him to her eye level. Her nails were digging into the skin of his chest, but he didn't stop her. 

"You can't even fight back, can you?!" She murmured darkly before shoving him to the ground again. "Some hero you are." She taunted. "Pathetic. Why am I not surprised? The cat sidekick is the doormat poser."

Adrien held his ground, refusing to let Marinette's words get to him. "No matter what you say, Marinette. I won't transform. I won't fight you. I would never fight you." He pleaded from his place on the floor. "I would never hurt you." 

He knew he was being stupid. Ladybug needed Chat Noir. He couldn't waste time here. He had a villain to defeat. 

But Marinette wouldn't let him pass. He would have to wrangle her out of the way if it meant getting out there in one piece. 

He didn't want to lay a finger on her. 

"And why on earth would you do that, you idiot??" She hissed. "Other than the fact that you are weak, of course." 

"Because I love you, Marinette!" He spit out. "I'm in love with you, and I would never," he got up again. "ever hurt you if it meant saving my life." 

The weight of his heavy secret had been dragging him down like a million bags filled with rocks. 

He edged around her, watching her carefully as she mirrored his moves, ready to lunge at him the minute she noticed a sign of lowered guard. 

Confessing felt like he had finally managed to throw those bags away, leaving him vulnerable. Vulnerable but free. 

"Liar." She growled. "You're a liar. Just like Lila. Just like all those people who believed her. They all let me down! Just like you did, Chat Noir!!" She screeched.

"I would never lie to you. I never intended to let you down." He said, realising that he had his back to the bigger half of the room. A few hurried steps behind him towards the door, and he was free. Mostly. 

Wait. What?

When had Chat Noir let Marinette down-?

"You-you-" Adrien realised as she was struggling with her words that Marinette could have attacked him anytime she wanted. But she didn't. 

She was fighting it. 

There was still hope. 

"You are nothing but a nuisance!! You always stop me from doing what I have to do because you are too busy wisecracking stupid jokes!! You lied to me and became Aspik!!!" 

Adrien's jaw dropped a little lower each time his words stabbed him, sentence by sentence. 

"YOU COULDN'T SAVE ME FOR MONTHS!!" She roared, even though she was still not touching him. "You only took that because you don't take things seriously AND NEVER WILL!!!"

"Ladybug....???" His voice was breaking.

But Multimouse??

"Yes!" She shouted. "Yes it is me, _kitty_." The nickname was laced with venom. "I must say, I'm quite disappointed. But not surprised. You are still letting everyone out there DIE while trying to woo me! Typical snake." 

She wasn't just being hateful in general, Adrien realised. She was wounding HIM in particular, and on purpose. 

"I'm not giving up on you, m'lady." He said fiercely. "I'll find a way to break this spell. I won't, I will never let you down." 

"Adrien!!" A red blob flew out of Marinette's purse, making her jump for a second. 

"Fly away, you mosquito!!" Marinette swatted Tikki away. 

The red Kwami hid behind his collar. "Adrien, you have to kiss her!!" 

"What?!" Adrien shouted. "That's insane!!" 

"Listen to her!!" Plagg shouted, zooming out of his pocket. "That's how she broke the spell on you!!" 

"But she doesn't love me!" Adrien argued impatiently then gasped when he saw Marinette holding her head and screaming in pain.

"Marinette!!" Adrien ran to her side without hesitation. "Marinette, what happened??" He held her arms away from clawing at her hair. 

She struggled against his hold, but her lips were still black. 

"Marinette, you're doing it!" His hands went from her wrists to entwine with her fingers. "You can fight it. I know you can!!" He encouraged.

Her face scrunched up painfully, and she pulled away from his hands, only for him to grab them back. 

"M'lady, you're the strongest person I know." Adrien whispered. 

He knew that this could be solved if hr did kiss her right away, but there was no way he was doing it until Marinette let him, even if she was under the akuma's control. 

"I'm right here, I'm right here. I'm not leaving you." Adrien said firmly. 

"Urgh!!" Marinette fought over and over again. "Of course you wouldn't see all the times I basically threw myself at you!!! You couldn't even tell that I was in love with you for a year - how are you going to 'save' me?!" She mocked. "Face it, you are useless!!" 

Adrien went slack jawed. "You love me?" 

His heart thumped. If it was true, he was holding on to it and never letting her go. 

"NO!!" She shouted, wrenching her hands out of his now-loose grip and pounding on his chest. "I hate you!! How many times do I have to tell you to get it into your head?!" Her blue eyes, (how had he not realised those were the blue eyes he fell in love with TWICE?) were raging with fire, a clear evidence of the battle in her mind. "I. Hate. You!"

That's it. He was getting to her. His hands moved up her arms and held her shoulders with a gentle grip, reminding her that he meant no harm. 

"Stop looking at me like that!" Her hands were fisted around his shirt. "I told you I hate you!" She was breathing heavily throughout, and finally, the dam burst and tears streaked down her cheeks. 

"I...I....." She was stammering. 

Adrien leaned in slowly, giving her time to push or even punch him away. 

She didn't move, nor did she make any attempts to shove him off. 

"Yeah. I know you do." He whispered, softly pressing his lips to hers. 

She stopped struggling altogether as her hands loosened on his shirt. 

He was kissing her gently, his movements so whisper soft, like he was afraid she would change her mind and pull away. 

She didn't. She tilted her head slightly, giving his lips better access to kiss her dark ones. 

Adrien sighed against her mouth as one of his hands moved to touch her neck, holding her weakening body in place. 

He pulled away first, slowly opening his eyes to gouge her reaction. 

She was blinking at him, her pink, soft lips parted in confusion. 

"Adrien? What's- what's going on??" Her voice was hoarse from all the screaming she did, but it wasn't vicious or cruel anymore. Just adorably confused. 

"Marinette!!" He nearly sobbed in relief, pulling her to his chest in a tight hug. He did it. She was back. 

"Uh, I-?" Marinette tentatively hugged him back. "I still don't understand what is going-" she cut herself off and Adrien realised what she must have seen.

"WHAA?" She yelped, pushing away from his hug. "What are they doing there?!" 

She pointed at the kwamis.

"Tikki, why are you outside?!" She shouted. "Oh no no no, Plagg is here too??" She was lost in her own world where she was freaking out. 

She moved past Adrien, nearly throwing him out of the way. 

"You two can't be here!! What will Chat Noir say?!" Marinette shouted. 

"I think he'd say, 'Hello there, Bugaboo." a voice interrupted her. 

Marinette froze. 

That was Adrien speaking. Of course she knew that. But that slight swagger, coupled with a hint of shyness, and that stupid nickname she'd been too afraid to admit she actually missed all equalled....

  
"Chat Noir?" She slowly spun around. 

"I'd love to stay here and ' _chat_ ', m'lady." He said, placing a hand on a hip, and by GOD, how could she not have known he was Chat Noir?! "But right now, Dark Cupid is kind of making everyone hate each other. He would have made me hate you too, but you stopped him before he had the chance." 

Marinette was still stuck in dreamland. "Yeah...that I remember. I guess we're even now, huh?" 

Adrien realised with a pang that she had forgotten everything else. 

"What...what happened-"

"OKAY!" Plagg said, quickly flying in between them. "Are you two done making googly eyes?? You are? Fantastic. Now transform already!!!" 

Despite the situation, Tikki giggled. 

"Right. Right. Transform. The akuma. Tikki, ots spon- I mean, Spots on!!" She stammered and transformed. 

"Wow." Adrien breathed dreamily. 

"What? What is it?" 

"I've never seen you transform before." He said. 

"Uh, I uh-" Ladybug shook her head. "Not now, kitty." She said firmly. Even though she was blushing. 

"Plagg, claws out!!" 

The minute he was clothed in blsck leather, he opened his eyes to see Ladybug brushing her fingers against his cheek. 

He winced. He had, quite frankly, forgotten that she punched him. 

Her blue eyes met his green ones, and for the first time, he looked at them differently. And from the looks of it, so was she. 

"This conversation is not over." She said softly, patting his cheek and running out of the room, prompting him to follow. 

Was it a good idea to tell her that she said the exact same thing the last time they kissed??

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, here's a tissue for you, here's a tissue for you, everyone gets tissues!!


	22. Day 22: Outfit Change

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When the masks fall away, the weight of secrets are left behind.

Marinette hated herself. 

That afternoon, Ladybug and Chat Noir had set the record for the shortest Akuma defeat ever, if one did not count Mr. Pigeon's relentless akumatisations. 

It was mostly her. Muttering quickly to Chat Noir Who Also Happened To Be Adrien Agreste to take care of Dark Cupid's army, she had run at Dark Cupid and lassoed him to rest at her feet. 

Chat had said something about the Akuma being in his sweatband, so she grabbed at both his gloves and threw them to him, which he promptly cataclysmed. 

What happened next was positively astounding. 

Lila Rossi had come out of nowhere from her supposed hiding place, unaffected by Dark Cupid, and tried to lunge for the Akuma. 

Both of them had almost been frozen in shock to stop her haphazard attempts to WILLINGLY join Hawkmoth. 

Thankfully, Chat (ADRIEN, she had to keep reminding herself) had snapped himself from his trance first and pulled Lila out of the akuma's reach. 

Ladybug purified the akuma, but before she cast her cure, she had quite a few stern words for Lila along with her partner. 

(She still couldn't believe that the very person who had stood by her side against her torment was the same person who fought by her side on a daily basis. Why hadn't she figured it out sooner??) 

Miss Bustier had been witness to the whole scene, having been one of the few people who had managed to not get hit. 

She had taken an outraged and defeated Lila under her wing, but only after promising to keep this between herself, Ladybug and Chat Noir. 

Lila was going to get therapy for a really long time. 

And no one else was really aware of what she had really done, or that she was even getting help, but neither Marinette or Adrien could bring themselves to care. 

It really didn't matter anymore. 

But that wasn't why Marinette hated herself. 

No, she had just run away to detransform without even fist bumping her partner. 

She had grabbed her bag and run away to her house before she saw his (masked or unmasked) face.

She had tried to amble away the rest of the day by focusing on homework or doodling in her sketchbook. She had barely finished one math problem after 8 hours and her designs were nothing more than chicken scratches. 

Her parents hadn't noticed, not because of their apathy, because she was able to successfully dodge potential questions by putting on a happy smile. 

When she was alone however, her thoughts traveled to a certain green eyed blond. 

In a few simple words, Marinette was freaking out, and she had no idea how to stop it.

She was curled up in her pajamas on her balcony, and she had been there for the past three hours late at night. 

The more she thought about it, the realisation that Adrien Agreste was Chat Noir seemed less like a fever dream and more plausible. 

The only time Chat Noir didn't make it to a battle was when Style Queen had marked him as her first victim.   
He wasn't around conveniently when she had to save Adrien from akumas.   
She still didn't understand how he had pulled that ruse with Gorizilla, but she knew now that the helmeted figure she saw from afar wasn't Adrien.   
His dedication to save her as Aspik made more sense now, and it infuriated and hurt her at the same time. It was absolutely on brand for her kitty to give her all in trying to save her over winning a battle. 

And it wasn't just that. When Adrien smiled, really smiled, she would swear to herself that his dimples looked exactly the same way Chat's did after he made a stupid joke only he would be proud of. 

His loud, racuous laugh screamed Chat Noir.   
How he often praised Ladybug but often thought poorly of his alter ego.   
His feather allergy.   
Mister Bug's eyes had been the exact same shade as Adrien's. 

And the worst part.   
She had been rejecting him for him. Saying that there was another boy in her life, when really the other boy had been him.   
Sometimes, Marinette was convinced that she was her own worst enemy.   
This was one of those times. 

And not to mention how he had definitely kissed her to break the spell.   
A kiss of True Love.  
Her cheeks bloomed red everytime she tried to imagine it, and that was enough to drive her thoughts far away from it. 

"Ahem." Marinette looked up at the noise, and let out a small yelp when she saw Chat Noir perched on her balcony. 

"Chat? A-adrien?" She said, getting up. 

"Hey." His smile was guarded, but still welcoming. 

"I... I'm so sorry-" 

"No, no, Marinette, you don't have to. I know you needed some space." He said reassuringly. "My brain was short circuiting when I found out too. And-" he hesitated. "And if you still need more space, all you have to do is say the word and I'll back off. I promise." 

Marinette sighed. He didn't deserve to be shut out because of her own stupid insecurities. 

"No, kitty." She said, with a small smile. "You can stay." 

His smile immediately brightened. "That's purrfect, then." He punned.

Hearing those puns and knowing that Adrien was the one making them made her roll her eyes even more. 

"Yeah yeah yeah." She said affectionately as he set his feet down on her balcony. 

"Do you mind if I detransformed?" He asked. 

"I was going to ask you the same thing." She said. 

"Claws in." He said, and a moment later, he stood there in front of her in his red and black spotted Ladybug themed pajamas, which elicted a giggle out of her. 

"Go on inside my room, Plagg." Marinette told the black Kwami. "Tikki is inside." 

Plagg grinned. "Oh sugarcube!!" He singsonged as he flew into her room. 

"They're a lot like us." Marinette commented. 

"Excuse me," Adrien said, offended. "I don't scarf down ten wheels of Camembert a day." 

Marinette giggled. 

"Hey." She said. 

"Hey." He said back. 

Because really, they were greeting each other for the first time, masks and secrets cast aside.

'Well maybe not all secrets....' A guilty voice in Marinette's head said. 

"I can't believe it's you." She breathed. 

"Are you disappointed?" He said, a hurt look on his face. "Because, you were really in a huge hurry to defeat Dark Cupid today." 

"No! No, no, not at all!" She hastened to reassure him. "I just....I'm sorry. I was confused and I didn't know what to tell you - especially after I got hit by him and you-" she cut herself off, causing both of them to blush. 

"Oh. Yeah." Adrien said wincing. "I promise I didn't force myself on you or anything. I...The kwamis said that that was the only way to break the spell and... Marinette, you told me you love me." 

Marinette's brain exploded. 

"I did WHAT?" 

Adrien folded into himself, clearly realising that it was the wrong thing to say. "I'm sorry!! I didn't mean to force that on you-" 

"Adrien." She grabbed his shoulders and made him face her. "What happened while I was out?" 

His eyes boggled at their closeness, but he found it in himself to continue. 

"Well....you.... weren't so nice." He said, scratching his head. "I know you didn't mean them, Bug. So I am not going to elaborate and make you feel bad. But then....I don't know, it was stupid but maybe telling Marinette that I love her would break the spell. It didn't. And then Plagg got all up in your face and then your hateful version basically told me that you were Ladybug and that you were in love with Adrien for a year and...I tried, okay? I tried to get through to you and...you were wonderful." He breathed the last sentence so reverently. "You were so strong, Marinette. You were fighting it since the beginning. You did so much better than I could have been if I was in your place." He was beginning to look a lot less agitated. "And...and only when you let me, I kissed you and...well, you know what happened after that." 

Marinette's mouth was wide open. She let her arms drop from Adrien's shoulders. 

"Marinette....I meant everything I said. I love you. Not just you-you, I love Ladybug-you, I love all of you, and if you will let me, I really, really just want to be with you. As more than friends, that is." His voice was quavering, but he didn't stammer or try to change his words. 

He meant them all. 

And somehow that made everything worse. 

"No no no no...." Marinette buried her face in her hands, trying to block out the sudden flash of the image of frightiningly cold blue eyes encased within a white mask.

"Marinette??" Adrien faltered. "Marinette, its okay if you don't feel the same way-" 

"No! I do!" Marinette wailed. "That's the whole problem!!" 

"What??" Adrien was confused, even though his heart leapt a little. "I don't understand. If I have feelings for you, and you feel the same way... what's the problem?" 

Marinette was shaking, and she edged away from him, rubbing her arms. Her pajamas nearly weren't warm enough.

Of course Adrien wouldn't have gone and told everyone her identity, HE WAS CHAT NOIR, for god's sake. 

But then if...he knew her identity, she would have known too, right? In that timeline? 

Adrien was horribly confused even more, but his first concern was Marinette's sudden withdrawal. He stepped up to her and almost pulled her into a hug out of habit, but then realised that he would be directly touching and seeing more skin than he planned, and he acquiesced for an awkward pat on her (still bare) shoulder. 

"I'm sorry, kitty." Marinette murmured. Her body language reminded him of something he knew all too well, the feeling of being a trapped, caged animal. "You wouldn't understand."

"Then make me understand." He whispered. 

Marinette blinked away tears and looked at him, but she still wasn't pushing him away. 

"Its not just that you can't understand - I can't - I can't tell you!" She gesticulated wildly. "It's too horrible!! And it was all my fault!!" 

"Shh... Marinette." He said gently. "You don't have to say anything right now." He rubbed her back up and down. "Do you want anything?" 

Marinette turned into his half embrace, turning it into a full one.   
"Please don't leave me." She sobbed into his neck. 

His hand around her shoulder wrapped around her back, holding her close, while the other one played with the loose strands of her hair, which wasn't in her usual pigtails. 

"I will never leave you, Bug." He whispered into her hair comfortingly, even though he didn't understand head or tails of the situation. "And no matter what happened, I know for a fact it wasn't your fault." 

"You don't even know what happened!!" She moved away, her eyes full of tears. 

"Okay, then what did happen?" 

He was full of worry for her sake, but he was still remaining calm for her too. He was definitely willing to hear her out, and not blame her or worse, leave her. 

"You got akumatised." She whispered. 

Okay, Adrien had not been expecting THAT. 

"Uh..." 

"No, you don't know because it happened in another timeline and Bunnyx came for me and she took me there and....it was horrible." She sobbed, and Adrien let her bury her face in his chest. 

"You...you had turned all white. He called himself Chat Blanc. I don't know what happened - but the world had been destroyed. Everyone was dead, except for him. He had the power of infinite destruction and he was trying to get my earrings and...and he said that it was my fault all of this happened. He said our love did this to the world." 

She couldn't speak any further, and Adrien didn't let her. 

"Please I can't say anything more." She cried. 

"It's okay, Bugaboo." He cuddled her close to his chest, all the while trying to take in what this new information meant to him. 

He couldn't imagine himself in white. Hell, he couldn't imagine himself getting akumatised, let alone that being Marinette's fault. No, he KNEW that wasn't Marinette's fault. 

"How can you say that? You don't know what happened!" Marinette stressed again, and he realised he said that out loud.

"I trust you. And I know you. You are way too smart to let something like that happen. M'lady, you don't know what happened either." He said and that thought seemed to settle with her for a while. 

"I think....I think we were together, as a couple in that timeline. And we knew who the other person was. And if we are together now," she pulled away, her eyes red and puffy and Adrien swears to himself she's never looked more beautiful. "If we are together, and that happens to you and I am not there to save you and if I lose you, I can never forgive myself." 

He kissed her forehead, letting his lips linger there. "We won't let that happen. I love you too much to let that happen to me, and thus you." 

"How...how do you do that?" She asked, sniffling. "How are you able to say you love me that easily when I can't spit it out?" 

Adrien's shoulders sagged, thinking of an answer. "No one's really told me they loved me for a really long time." Marinette's heart sank, her eyes tearing up for his sake. "And I haven't actually been in love with anyone, until you came along." He smiled at her. "I don't know how to do it, and I can't offer you advice, but I guess I just do, you know? I love you and I want to say it." 

Marinette's lower lip wobbled. "I can't...I need to think. I need to clear my head, it's all too much. I'm sorry, Adrien. I'm sorry I can't tell you how I feel. You don't deserve that." 

"Hey, don't apologise. You've been through so much, I can't imagine surviving if I was put in your place. You take all the time you need, Marinette. I'll wait as long as I have to. And if you don't want to be together, I will completely understand. I'll just be...I AM so so happy to just be a part of your life." 

"I don't deserve you." She said, wiping her cheeks. 

He chuckled, moving away from her, putting a chaste yet comforting distance between them. "You deserve a lot more than you think, Bugaboo." 

"Will you stay here for a while?" Marinette asked, her voice impossibly small. "I..I know I said I needed time but.." 

"You don't even have to ask." He said, wrapping an arm around her. 

Marinette pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Thank you. Just..just give me a minute. I'll get us a blanket." 

She climbed down her room and saw Plagg and Tikki hovering close to the hatch. 

"I'm glad you told him, Marinette." Tikki said, smiling comfortingly. 

"He needed to know." She said,walking over to the closet and fishing out one of the warmer blankets. "Plagg, I'm sorry that happened to both of you." She turned to the black, sullen kwami. 

"I don't think it was your fault either, Marinette." Plagg said quietly. "I can't believe that this had to happen to him. Over everything that's already piling on him." He flew to hover in front of Marinette's face. "Listen to me. You're a good kid. Both of you are. And you don't have to tell him you love him if you don't. But if you do, and you do tell him....take care of my boy. Don't, not even for a second, make him feel alone and unloved. Promise me that." 

She hugged her blanket close to her chest, peering up at the open hatch even though she couldn't see him. He loved her. He told her that outright. He was there waiting for her. Literally and figuratively. 

"I promise, Plagg."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS IS SO BAD.   
> IM SORRY.   
> *hides*


	23. Day 23: Banana Suit Reveal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The banana found the apple of his eye.

Adrien had no idea how he managed to end up at a M.Banana and his Fruity Band concert, with a bunch of kids screaming around him, while cosplaying as M.Banana himself. 

Okay, maybe he did. 

And it may have been Nino's fault.

But he was the idiot who accepted. 

But he was also the idiot being a good friend.

.....who was using this as an opportunity to stay close to Marinette. 

It all began 4 days ago, when Nino and Alya mentioned how there was a M.Banana concert which their siblings where excitedly looking forward to.

"And Chris won't shut up about it." Nino had bemoaned, banging his head on the lunch table. "He's begging me to get dressed up and go there."

Alya had conceded to the same thing. "Ella and Etta want to dress up too, and my parents are on board with it and they've already bought the four costumes online." She rolled her eyes. "The problem is, they bought the adult sized ones, and now I have to dress up as an orange and Nino has to dress up as a grape we both have to go listen to a bunch of fruits dancing around singing stupid songs that rhyme horribly." 

Marinette had snorted at this. "Isn't it bad enough that you have to go? Why should you have to dress up as well?" 

"Because the other kids' parents will be wearing it to please their kids, and if we don't do it as well, it's a one-way ticket to Tantrum-ville." Alya said, a haunted look in her eyes. "Seriously, you two are so lucky you are only kids." 

"And get this." Nino said, frustratedly. "Chris is saying that he won't go to the concert unless we dress up as all the four band members. There are only two of us already suffering, and he has to add on to it." He said, slumping his shoulders in defeat. 

"There are four members in this kid band?" Adrien asked. 

"Yeah, a banana, an apple, a grape and an orange." Alya said. "I've watched it on Tv too many times. I can hear the stupid song in my sleep." 

Marinette sympathetically patted her friend's hand. "Sorry you two." 

"I just wish we had time to actually hang out, you know, Al?" Nino turned to his girlfriend. "No brothers and sisters, no bands, just us." 

"Aww, me too, Nino." Alya kissed his cheek. "We'll make the most of it." 

And that made Marinette and Adrien inadvertently look at each other and promptly look away, blushing heavily. 

Their little predicament was still unknown to their best friends. Marinette wasn't in any way icing him out, she was too nice for that. They were still friends, except that in times like this, they were reminded of their awkward relationship status. 

"Hmm..." Alya suddenly hummed, looking at the two of them.

Marinette had instantly been on guard. "No. No. NO." She ordered. "I know what you are thinking and I REFUSE to do what you are thinking." 

"Marinette...." 

"I am not dressing up. We," she pointed to Adrien, who was a lot slower on the uptake. "Are not dressing up. Nope." 

Adrien's eyes widened. "Nuh uh, no way. I hate M.Banana." 

Which led to Marinette looking at him weirdly, but thankfully not commenting. 

Nino narrowed his eyes at him. "Then why do you have his costume in your closet." 

Adrien choked on his salad. "No, I don't!!" 

"Yes, you do. Remember the time we had that guys only party? I saw it in your closet. If you hate him so much, why did you-" 

"It was a joke, okay?? I bought it online a long time back to piss off my dad." Adrien lied frantically. 

He eyed Marinette, but she was suddenly focused on her plate.   
The traitor.

Alya thankfully found it funny. "Did it work?"

"No, he didn't even see it. Natalie found it a few weeks ago and confiscated it." 

Which was a lie, but he had to cover for his identity after all. He may need it sometime, no matter how annoying he found the character. 

"You two, please do a favor and help us out." Nino begged. "Adrien, I'll do whatever you want." 

"Why should I help you?" Adrien raised an eyebrow. "You just embarased me in front of the girls." 

Marinette gave him a 'Really?' look, and Ladybug's meaning was not lost on Chat Noir. 

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I won't let the secret come out. My lips are sealed. Besides, no one can even see your face! Yours is the only costume that would cover your entire head. No one would know it's Adrien Agreste cosplaying as a banana." 

That led both Alya and Marinette into a fit of giggles. "Boy, I cannot wait to see that." Marinette teased, and he glared at her. 

"Not helping, Marinette." He groaned. "And both of you too, it's not like you have a reputation riding on your shoulders." 

"Please, bro? Chris would be happier if you were around. He listens to you more than me. He practically adores you." 

Darn it. 

Adrien's hardened heart of steel softened a little. 

When he still didn't give in, Nino said, "He really misses you. He keeps on asking me when you are going to come back and 'hang' with him like big kids and let him play with the big fire trucks." 

"Noooo..." Adrien whined. "How do I say no to that? I can't let Chris down of all people!" 

He had completely missed how tender Marinette's expression had gotten at his obvious attachment to the little boy. 

"Fine, I'll do it." Adrien said, and Nino reached over the table to throw his arms around him. 

"But only if Marinette comes too." He said. 

Marinette gasped. "Are you actually bargaining on a child's happiness??Shame on you, Adrien." 

"No, I'm actually bargaining to not be a third wheel." Adrien glared at Alya and Nino, who looked rightfully sheepish. 

Marinette stared him down in a way so reminiscent of Ladybug seconds before she would deck an akumatised villain, that he had almost caved. 

"Fiiinne." Marinette said. "Wipe that smug smirk off your face, Cesaire." 

A few minutes later, the lunch bell rang, and once Alya and Nino had left, 

"I hate you, you know that, right?" 

"Sorry, about that m'lady." Adrien said cheekily. "We're kind of a package deal now. And besides," he said, purposefully sliding closer to her as he got off the bench. "I've kind of missed you over the past week." 

He had left behind a very red-faced Marinette.   
Whether it was from embarassment or anger, neither of them knew. 

\------------------  
And that was how he was in a brand new M.Banana costume, running behind Chris Lahiffe as he tugged him over to the merchandise stand. 

It was no secret that Chris absolutely adored Adrien. Playtime was a lot more fun when he was around, and the sad face he had pulled when Adrien finally came that Saturday, saying how he was scared that Adrien didn't want to play with him anymore made him forget about the few regrets he had left over. 

"Look, look!!" Chris jumped. "They're selling banana-flavoured cotton candy!! I want one, Adrien!" 

"Of course, buddy." Adrien ruffled his hair before ordering one. 

"Oh, there you are." He turned to see Marinette run up to both of them. 

Adrien's cheeks puffed up inside the incredibly sweaty costume. Marinette was wearing an extremely poofy and round Mlle. Apple costume, which made it kind of hard for her (and Alya, who was an orange) to walk around in. 

She looked adorable. He had said so the minute he saw her, and she threatened to skin him like the banana he was. 

And he had been too thrilled in the fact that she had punned to realise the innuendo behind her words. 

"Ah, there she is! The apple of my eye." He said smugly and she glared at him. 

"How long have you been waiting to make that joke?" 

"A really long time." He admitted. "And it wasn't a joke." 

Marinette's mouth dropped a little.   
Adrien really had followed through on his promise to wait for a while. He hadn't pushed her to talk about the potential of a romantic relationship at all over the past week. 

Well that was mostly because he was away finishing up the photoshoot Lila had ruined from scratch. They had barely talked to each other since that day on her balcony. Even patrols were put on hold for a while, even though they hadn't explicitly talked about that either. 

"So are you two boyfriend and girlfriend?" Chris asked, wrinkling his nose. "Like Nino and Alya?"

"What?" Adrien said when Marinette said, "No!" 

Adrien frowned a little at her insistence to deny it, but he didn't dwell on it too much. 

"But...." Chris was confused. "She has made presents for every birthday of yours." 

"She has?" Adrien asked, surprised. 

Marinette's heart was slowly flatlining. 

"And she has pictures of you all over her room." 

"Those are just for-!" 

"Fashion, I know." Adrien said softly, though he understood the real reason why now. "Marinette is a designer, Chris. And I'm a model. She just uses them to make clothes." 

"Oh!" Chris's eyes lit up. "Yeah, and she makes stuff for you too! One day I saw her make a black hat that looks just like your t-shirt!" 

"Wait..." Adrien's mind flashed to the day Ladybug had left the beret Chris was unmistakably describing in his room.

But didn't she say it was from his fanclub?

Marinette wrenched the candyfloss out of the vendor's hands and thrust it in Chris's hands. "Here you go, big guy!!!" She squeaked. 

Adrien reached forward to pay him, as he saw Alya and Nino arrive from the other food stalls with Ella and Etta. 

"There you are." Alya said. "You know, we should go soon. It's starting now." She groaned. "Ready to suffer through it together?"

"Actually!!" Marinette piped up. "I gotta go - use the restroom!! Be back!!" 

She bumbled away, hitting a pram by accident and leaving behind a cross mother and a weeping baby. 

"Marinette, wait!!" Adrien called after her, feeling positively awful. 

"Uh...what did we miss?" Nino asked. 

"I don't know why Marinette ran away." Chris said innocently. "I thought her and Adrien were like you and Alya, Nino."

Alya simply nodded in understanding while Nino flared up. "Chris! What have we talked about not being nosy?" 

"Nino, it's fine." Adrien said. "He's just a kid. He didn't know." 

Nino sighed, patting his younger brother's head as Chris teared up. "I'm still sorry about what happened, Adrien." 

"Go after her, Sunshine." Alya said. "We'll take care of these little guys." 

Adrien almost immediately nodded. "I'll call you later."

He turned and ran, hoping Marinette really wasn't at the restrooms.

\----------------  
He was right. He found her sitting at th mall lounge, her head in her hands, her costume stripped off, leaving her in a cute red blouse with ruffles and jeans. Her hair was in its usual pigtails, and the urge to recognise her as Ladybug was far too strong. 

"Hello there, mademoiselle." He said, knowing how ridiculous he must look walking up to a girl while wearing a banana costume. 

She looked up, shrinking away from him on the couch. 

"What would you say to some very appealing company?" 

"I can't believe you are still talking to me instead of running away as fast as you can." She said, still looking mortified as ever. 

"C'mon, m'lady." He said, sitting down and nudging her shoulder as best as he could. "We've been through so much. We've gone from getting pulverized by robots and trying to please Santa Claus twice to detransforming in front of each other in a metal box. I think that absolutely nothing about you could bother me. I love you the way you are." 

"You are only saying that to make me feel better." Marinette said, looking down at her knees. 

Adrien bit his lip as he recalled how he said those familiar words to her once upon a time at a balcony filled with candles. He hadn't realised then that when Marinette was apologizing to him, it was Ladybug herself who was doing that. 

"Can you...can you help me out with this?" Adrien pointed to a zipper in his costume. "I really can't reach it. I kind of want to properly see you and talk."

"Oh, okay." Marinette pulled it and wrenched it out of his head. 

"Ah. Oxygen." Adrien gasped. 

"Hello there, Banana Noir." Marinette giggled. 

"Hello there, Bugaboo." Adrien said, pulling himself out of the stretchy fabric. 

"Marinette....seriously, though." Adrien said, laying the costume next to him. "Are you... regretting revealing our identities?" He asked. 

"What? No!" Marinette said, frantically. "No, no way. I'm so glad that you are my partner, Adrien. If Chat Noir could be anyone, I'm glad he is you." 

"So...why did you run away?" Adrien questioned. "I mean, you looked even more tense when Chris mentioned the beret....which I now know is from you and not my Brazilian fan club." 

"Oh...right. You noticed." Marinette nervously scratched her ear. 

"Although...why did you lie?" Adrien asked. "Not that I'm accusing you or anything, but...I would have been beyond happy if I knew it was from you." 

"I didn't want to lie." She sighed. "I was trying to confess to you. I tried several times. The scarf,the letter at the train - which was actually what I was going to give you, NOT the prescription - the valentine-" 

"So that was from you!!" Adrien said excitedly. "I mean, I had a hunch it was from Ladybug, who was you, and then I thought, Ladybug isn't in my class... Marinette is. And her writing is so similar. For a moment there....I really thought it was you who sent it." His face fell a little. "And then I remembered that you liked Luka...." 

"Luka?" Marinette was confused. "I don't like him. I mean, I like him as a person, but not in that way. But...you aren't exactly far off either. I did try to like him for a while, just like you did with Kagami...." She trailed off, awkwardly. 

"Believe me, Kagami is awesome, and she'll always be a dear friend of mine, but we wouldn't last long." He admitted. "Don't worry, m'lady. You're the only one for me." 

"And I,you." She said softly. "Luka is wonderful, kitty, but he's not you."

"But...I don't get it. You were always nervous around me. You told me twice that you didn't like me that way, and...and that why I came to that conclusion.." 

Marinette winced at her own stupidity. "I had the most ginormous crush on you, Adrien. I couldn't even string a normal sentence around you out of nervousness and the two times you asked me that question I had embarrassed myself horribly. I didn't want you to find out like that. I swear, it felt like the universe was against me." 

He wrapped an arm around her. "Well, it can't be that against you, since we're sitting here now, secrets revealed and transparent." 

"You don't regret the reveal?"

"M'lady, I have been dying to know the girl behind the mask for so long. Ever since I fell in love with her, I told myself I would love the girl without a mask as well, without any judgements. But well...that was a lie." 

"Huh?" Marinette was confused.

"Well, I wouldn't exactly have had the same reaction if you were Chloe or Lila." He winced and she laughed. "So yeah, to an extent, I told myself I would love the girl underneath the mask. Even if I didn't know her, once I did know Ladybug's real name, I told myself I would love her with all my heart, just the way she is. Except, I did already know Ladybug's civilian identity. And I really really loved her too. Deep inside." 

"Adrien.... wait." She placed a hand on his knee. 

"Marinette, this is not me trying to get an answer out of you." Adrien said. "I understand. Once you do tell me what you want to do on your own terms, I will readily accept that without question." 

"You know why I became so tensed over the beret?" Marinette said. "Because me giving that to you, and you figuring out my identity in that timeline is what caused Chat Blanc." 

"What? I don't understand." Adrien said. "So...I figured out your identity. That's what happened even now. And I'm not wearing white yet so...." 

"No, I don't know what happened. But Chat Blanc knew who I was. And I didn't know to connect him knowing my identity and you figuring out mine, but now I do." 

She instinctively hugged his torso and laid her head on his shoulder. "Kitty, it was awful. Knowing that I did that to you, that you suffered alone for months all alone, I almost gave up thinking that I would ever get you back." 

"Marinette, don't blame yourself, okay?" He cradled her head to his shoulder. 

Right now they felt less like Adrien and Marinette and more like Chat Noir and Ladybug. 

"You are the strongest, smartest person I know. I know you didn't do this. I trust you and I don't even have to investigate anything. I just know." 

"I thought I lost you, that day." She mumbled into his neck. "My heart broke looking at him, and even though he was out to kill me, I knew that Chat Noir was hiding in him somewhere, because he could have destroyed me in one shot, but he didn't. All he wanted was to take my earrings and fix everything. You know, with the wish that grants..." 

"... anything your heart desires." Adrien finished. "That was Chat Blanc's goal? Not to get them to Hawkmoth?" 

"Hawkmoth was dead in that timeline. But that's not the point. The point is that I could see my goofy, adorable, supportive and loving Chat Noir, even in monstrous Chat Blanc. That was when I thought..... feelings be damned, Adrien should not know about Marinette's feelings, because that led to Ladybug getting Chat Noir akumatised." 

She looked up at his astonished face and caressed his cheek. "I'm so sorry. I'd rather save you than be with you and let you die. I can't do that to you. You mean too much to me, both as Adrien and Chat Noir." A single tear rolled down her cheek. 

"You sacrificed all that...just for me?" Adrien stuttered. 

"I called you that day just to see you and be with you." Marinette said, her words tumbling out of their own accord. "That was....that was the day I fell in love with Chat Noir." She sniffled. 

Adrien forgot what it was like to speak or react. He was gaping at her like a fish. 

"I wanted to be with you. Really. But I had to keep pulling the 'I was in love with someone else' because I couldn't tell you the real reason. I couldn't confess to Adrien, and I couldn't be with Chat Noir. I broke me to hurt you over and over again, but I can't stand losing either of you, but I had to let myself do that, or...or..." She couldn't say anything more. 

"I love you, Adrien." She said. "I love all of you. I love every bit of you. But I can't...I just can't. If I do, it will happen again and I don't want to fight you!" She whimpered. 

The gears in Adrien's mind were whirring. There was no way he was letting her go now. Not after he knew she wanted him too. 

"Marinette." He said seriously. "Can you do something for me?" 

"What is it?" 

"You told me Chat Blanc said that our love was responsible for this. What did he exactly say? What was his wording?" 

"I..." 

"Do you remember?" 

"How can I not? I've had nightmares about it for a whole two weeks after it happened." 

Adrien's jaw dropped. "Why didn't you tell me? Atleast as Chat Noir??" 

"Because I couldn't!! I couldn't tell you without telling you the entire story!" 

"Right...." Adrien said apologetically. "I'm sorry. I don't blame you for not telling me, m'lady. I wish I had there for you. I wish you didn't have to go through this alone." 

"You did help me. You helped me in so many ways than you can possibly imagine. I can't imagine being the Guardian or being Ladybug without you being at my side." 

"So, Bugaboo." He held both her hands in his. "I'm asking you to help me help you now. Think hard, but think patiently, and tell me what Chat Blanc told you. I'm sure there is something we are missing." 

Marinette took a moment to relax into the touch of his hands. He was remaining calm and logical when she was on the verge of panicking, and her thoughts wandered to the day she threw her arms around him in the Seine in a grateful hug. So many emotions had flitted through her mind that day, her almost losing him, her having to fight him, her realising that at the end of the day, it was always down to the two of them, and her realising that she had fallen hard and long for him.

Her finding out that Chat Noir was Adrien didn't make things harder and more complicated. It made things more simpler. There weren't two boys. It was only one all along. 

"He said..." She said, jogging her memory. "He said that everything was fine until Hawkmoth found out about everything. That our love did this to the world." 

Adrien's eyes lit up like Christmas trees. 

"Adrien?" 

"Yes, Marinette, that's it!!" He laughed loudly, but he looked like he was going to burst with happiness. 

"What is?? I don't understand-" before she could finish, he was getting up and pulling her to her feet too. 

"The problem isn't that we loved each other. The problem is that HAWKMOTH found out we loved each other." He said, holding her hands and staring deep into her eyes. "We can easily solve this. You always said Ladybug and Chat Noir dating could be a problem, and you are quite right there. It is too dangerous for us to date as superheroes. But...that problem doesn't extend to Adrien and Marinette." 

Marinette's heart was beating out of her chest. 

"To the world, we're just two normal people. No one knows who we are. We won't let anyone know who we are, except that we love each other, and we are together, which we are quite well within our rights to do." 

"Adrien..." Marinette let out a happy gasp, her arms around his neck. "This is probably the most brash and impulsive idea you ever had." 

"What's stopping us?" He said seriously. "I refuse to let Hawkmoth decide whether we should be happy or not. I don't care what anyone says, Marinette, Hawkmoth, my dad, Lila - I just want to be with you." 

"I said your idea was brash and impulsive, not that it was a bad one." She said shyly, moving to push his hair out of his face. The costume had messed it up a lot and he looked so much like Chat Noir then.

"So?" Adrien said, his hands on her arms. 

"You're right. I can't let fear stop me from going after what I truly want."

"And that is....?" He said cheekily.

"You're just doing this to annoy me, aren't you?" 

"I was born to annoy you, Bugaboo." 

"Silly kitty." She booped his nose, making him laugh. Her voice softened a bit. "Good thing I love you anyway." 

That was the last straw for Adrien. After having to hold himself back for far far too long, he let himself do what he wanted to do everytime he saw her. 

He kissed her.   
Long and hard. 

And she reciprocated in kind. 

His mouth moved against hers passionately, and her hands gripped his hair, digging into his scalp. 

He only pulled away when air was a necessity. "I love you. Oh god, I love you so much." 

Without letting her answer, he picked her up and spun her around in his arms, and she laughed and laughed and laughed until she was crying of happiness. 

"I love you too." She said, once he finally calmed down enough to put her down. 

He leaned down again to kiss every part of her face that he could reach. Her forehead, her cheeks, her nose, her jaw, her lips again, and she laughed throughout all of those. 

"So this is it? We're together? Finally?" Marinette said, hardly able to believe her good luck. 

"Yes, and no matter what happens," he rested his head against her forehead, breathing in her sweet scent. 

"It's us against the world." She said, leaning in again to kiss him. 

\---------  
Later, when they joined Alya and Nino, several questions were raised as to why they weren't wearing their costumes, and why they were holding hands. 

Adrien answered her by dipping Marinette and kissing her soundly in front of everyone. 

Alya's screech was so loud, it easily outshone M.Banana's high notes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here you go you hungry shippers. Now that you are fed, I can sleep peacefully.
> 
> I've earned it.


	24. Day 24: Kwami Visit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien and Marinette take advice from a pair of immortal little gods.

One blissful week of happiness later, it seemed like saying that almost all of Miss Bustier's class was happy about Adrien and Marinette's relationship was an understatement.

(Even Nino had relinquished his seat next to Adrien permanently. 

"Who am I to stand in the way of true love?" 

"Aw, thanks, dude."

"I was talking about me and Alya."

"Hey!")

Of course, there were always people who thought otherwise. Chloe pulled Marinette aside and told her not-so-nicely and at the same time not-aggressively that if she hurt Adrien, she would hurt her. 

Marinette managed to take that in stride, most of Chloe's insults never bothered her anymore. 

Lila had captured the class's attention with her stories about her therapist, and at the moment, it seemed like she didn't care about Adrien. But both of them knew that they should be on their guard, because Lila was as unpredictable as she was devious.

Tom and Sabine welcomed Adrien into the family the moment Marinette had walked into the apartment hand-in-hand with him. 

"We had been waiting for this for over a year!" Tom had bounced around the kitchen excitedly. 

"Dad!!" 

"Our daughter never stops talking about you, you know." 

"Mom!!" 

Adrien had just laughed it all off, which deepened Marinette's embarrassment even more. 

However, there was still an elephant in the room, one which neither of them wanted to acknowledge, atleast not now. 

Right now, there were more focused on trying to beat out their UMS high score together. 

"Yeah!" Marinette whooped, holding up her fist for him to bump. "We did it! And you finally got the hang of that special move!!" 

Adrien chose to forgo the fist bump and kiss her cheek instead, which elicted a giggle out of her. 

"Yeah well, no wonder most of the class doesn't want to take us on a video game tournament." Adrien snorted. "Max is the bravest of them all. Not braver than my lady, of course." 

"Eurgh." Plagg grumped from Marinette's bed. "Do I have to listen to this for the rest of my life?" 

"Plagg, leave them be." Tikki chided, flying in front of them. "I know I was the one who often insisted on the identity rule, but I have never seen Marinette smile this widely in forever." She smiled at Adrien. "Thank you for making her so happy." 

"Nah. It's the other way around." 

"Nuh uh!" Marinette protested. "It's the other-other way around." 

"Fine, we both make each other happy." He pulled her rolling chair closer to him, bringing their faces closer together. "And isn't that the only thing that matters?" 

Marinette's grin faded a little when she saw his tone become more serious. She knew what he was referring to. 

"Yes, of course." She pecked his lips. 

"So, does this mean I have to listen to him gushing about you even more in the middle of the night?" Plagg said, flying next to Tikki. 

"Hey!" Adrien said indignantly. 

"What? I had to deal with you hearing from my parents about how I used to sign your name everywhere on my notebooks. You'll live with a little humiliation." She nudged him. "Go on, Plagg." 

Plagg was positively jubilant. "I knew I liked you!!" 

"Stoooopp." Adrien groaned, burying his face in Marinette's neck. 

"It was postively sickening." Plagg gagged. "Even before this month, everyday it was, Marinette did this, Marinette did that, Marinette is so amazing, Marinette made this, Marinette is the best choice Ladybug could have made....and that last one made my brain explode every time he said it." 

"Oh, you can only imagine Ladybug's struggle every time Chat Noir insisted that we use Multimouse whenever we had the slightest inconvenience." Marinette giggled. 

"Well to be fair, I had faith in your judgement, and I had faith in your skills as a superhero. I cannot believe I'm getting ganged up on for being a good partner and a good friend." Adrien said, pouting at Tikki, who seemed to be the only one who had any form of sympathy for him. 

"Relax, kit." Plagg landed on his head. "Only teasing." 

"Figured." 

"Hey, Plagg." Marinette said suddenly. "Remember how I told you I would let you sample some of the cheese in the bakery?" 

"You serious?!" Both Adrien and Plagg said in completely different ways at the exact same time. 

"Marinette!! What if your parents notice?? Plagg can and will eat everything in sight!!" Tikki warned. 

"Excuse you, Sugarcube." Plagg said, highly affronted. "My only love is cheese, and I have a preference for camembert. I may be a glutton, but I know how to be dignified about it." 

"Is there a thing called a dignified glutton?" Adrien said disdainfully. "Marinette, if your parents find out, I will never be trusted enough to be left alone with you in the house ever again!" He pouted. 

"I'm not Ladybug for nothing, you know. I know how to cover up my tracks." She winked. "And besides, I could always use the time to make some cookies." 

"Cookies??" Adrien and Tikki said delightedly. 

"Hypocrites." Plagg muttered as Marinette laughed. 

"Come on, Plagg." She waved him over to sit on her shoulder. "You two coming?" 

"Oh, uh, yeah." Adrien said. "I'll just put these away. Will you help me Tikki?" 

"Of course, Adrien!" 

"So proper." Marinette cooed. "Meet me in the living room, okay? I'll just grab everything I need from the bakery." 

"Okay, princess." He grinned at her.

When she left down the hatch, Adrien began making quick work of all the wires and turning off the monitor. 

"She puts those video games in the second shelf of the cabinet." Tikki said. "She is pretty particular about arranging her games properly." 

"Wow." Adrien whistled. "I don't even know where half of my games are, there are too many of them." 

"What's wrong, Adrien?" Tikki asked. 

Adrien's head snapped up to look at the red kwami. "Wrong? Why would something be wrong?" 

"I've been around for a long time." She laughed. "I can tell. You're oddly tense." 

"Okay...you may have known from Marinette that I'm not exactly buddy-buddy with my dad and I haven't been for a long time." He sighed. 

"I do." Tikki said gently. "And for what it's worth, both Marinette and I are completely on your side. Your father is being rather unfair." 

"Weeeellll, it's not really about my mom or whatever happened two weeks ago that I now know you witnessed." Adrien swallowed nervously. "I kind of told him I had a girlfriend this morning." 

"Oh, dear." 

"And well, there was a lot of eyebrow raising and the questioning of the purpose of me going to public school and that I could much rather be practicing my piano instead of 'wasting time', but really I could handle that. I told him it was Marinette and he said he remembered her. Which I thought was a good sign until he said he wanted to meet her for dinner next week." 

Tikki's eyes widened. "Why is that a problem? Isn't that a good thing too?" 

"Knowing my dad?" Adrien rolled his eyes. "Tikki, I'm really worried." 

"Why, Adrien?" 

"I know Marinette can handle herself just fine, and I'm definitely not waiting around for my father's approval to date her, I danced around enough with my words to make that clear to him. I'm scared he'll do something or say something to make sure that we don't get to be together in case he doesn't approve." 

"I see." Tikki mused. "So it's not approval you are worried about, it is what would come after in case one doesn't." 

"Exactly." 

"I can't believe it. Would your father really be that opposed to you being happy?" Tikki was shocked.

"Honestly, with him I can never tell." Adrien sighed. 

"That's...awful." Tikki looked downright distraught. "No one deserves that. Your father needs to understand that you are happy and that you are responsible for your happiness and he isn't!" 

"Thanks Tikki. You really get it. I have tell Marinette about this, don't I?" 

She nodded.

"How do I say it without sounding like an overprotective jackass?" 

Tikki's laughed. "Marinette wouldn't be mad at you for wanting to defend her. I'd say she'd be grateful for the support." 

Adrien thought over that. Tikki was right. One of his favourite things about their partnership was that there was no ego there. They were both genuinely appreciative of the other's support. He might as well make use of that little tidbit now. 

"Adrien," Tikki said. "If your father doesn't approve, show him that you are indeed happy, and that his attempts to bring you both down don't scare you. Once your father sees that, I'm sure he'll come around." 

Adrien smiled weakly. "It's a long shot, but it's worth a try. Thanks Tikki." 

"Anytime, Adrien." Tikki nuzzled his cheek. 

As Adrien descended the stairs, Tikki spoke up again, "Also, I have never seen Plagg this happy with his previous holders either." 

"What do you mean?" Adrien asked in a hushed voice. "I got the general idea that he wasn't really happy in the past....but he never talks to me about it."

Tikki hesitated. "I can't say much, but his past holders haven't.... exactly been considerate of his need for food. Unless they want to transform, of course." 

Adrien was horrified. "What??" 

"But he's so happy with you. He doesn't trust many people, but he's so free and open with you. I'd say it's because you earned his trust." 

Adrien swore to himself that the minute he got home, he would order the biggest wheel of Camembert he could find online. 

\------------  
"So Adrien is afraid to tell me about his dad because he doesn't want to hurt me?" Marinette asked Plagg, hardly able to believe it. 

"Yeaup." Plagg drawled as he munched on his cheese. 

"But why? If his father agreed to meet us that's a good thing, right?" Marinette fidgeted with the ends of her loose hair. 

"Adrien's terrified his father is going to go all judgey judgey on you." 

"If he tries to judge me, even Adrien knows I would put him in his place." Marinette fumed. 

She had a good idea of what Gabriel Agreste was like as a parent, and Marinette wasn't a fan. 

Even then, her concern wasn't about herself, it was about Adrien. 

"What if he's really hard on Adrien because of me? I really really don't want that to happen." 

"If he is hard on him, it's because he is an asshole, not because of you. Remember that." Plagg said, being straight forward as ever. "And Adrien would never blame you, hell that boy is crazy about you. Literally. He wouldn't let his dad stop him from loving you. Although I still can't understand what the old man's deal is. Aren't normal human parents supposed to be happy for their kids?" 

"Well, my dad was never normal." Adrien said, placing a hand on Marinette's shoulder, making her jump. "I should have guessed that Plagg already told you." 

Marinette shifted guiltily, but Plagg was shameless. "You weren't gonna tell her anyway. So I did." 

"Plagg, really. You have to let them talk it among themselves." Tikki scolded

Adrien rolled his eyes. "Don't worry, Bugaboo. I was gonna tell you just now." 

"Oh god, they want to be alone AGAIN." Plagg wailed. Tikki only flew over efficiently to pull him away. 

"We'll call you in a bit! Stay close!" Marinette said loudly. 

"So..." Adrien said, eyeing her. 

"Yeah...um," Marinette turned her back to him and focused on haphazardly placing the ingredients and bowls across the counter. 

"Marinette, listen." Adrien began. "I'm really not afraid to have you meet my dad, no matter what Plagg said. I know we've been avoiding that topic all week..." 

"And we had to address it at one point or another..." Marinette sighed, moving a strand of hair behind her ear. "I guess I'm scared, you know?" 

"Hey.." Adrien, wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and pulled her close to his chest. "You have nothing to be afraid of. I meant it when I said that I don't want my father's approval to be with you. This is the one thing he can't stop me from doing." 

"Other than being Ladybug's furry boyfriend?" Marinette nuzzled her nose into his cheek.

"Hey, Ladynoir isn't canon. Publicly at least." Adrien pouted. "And I'm not a furry." 

"Sure you aren't. And I don't know that you are capable of purring if-" she turned in his arms, and slid a hand into his hair, right at the spot where his ears would have been if he was Chat Noir. "-I scratch you right there." 

"Oh my god.." he purred heavily. "Stop that, m'lady." He pleaded. "You're ruining my image." 

"An image of being an adorable kitten?" Marinette giggled, only continuing her ministrations to his scalp. "I'd say I'm encouraging it." 

He tried to glare at her, but his high pitched whine of "Marineeettee" came off as needy rather than commanding. 

She paused for a while, staring down at his chest instead. "I'm not afraid of what your father might say about me. I am scared what it might to do to his relationship with you." 

Adrien's expression darkened for a second,but the chill was gone as quickly as it came. 

"That's his problem. Not ours." He said. "And I promise you, I'm going to stand by your side no matter what." 

"I already know." Marinette said, leaning in to kiss him, only for him to pull away. 

"Adrien." She whined. "What now?" 

"You don't get to kiss me that easily after how you tortured me for a while there." He said smugly.

She lightly jabbed his chest. "It's not torture if you like it." 

"Woah woah, I said you wouldn't get to kiss me, I never said I wouldn't kiss you." He said, leaning in close. 

Marinette's skin trembled in anticipation as she felt his lips brush against hers delicately, only for him to change track at the last second and kiss the spot below her ear. "I also never said I would kiss you right away." He whispered into her ear, sending a fluttery feeling throughout her entire body. 

"You are incorrigible!" Marinette accused, shoving him away as he laughed out loud. 

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," he held on to her arm, pulling her back to him. 

She was still pouting and not looking at him, determined to be annoyed. 

"Come on." He kissed the top of her hand. "You know I would never pass up on an opportunity to kiss you the way you deserve it." 

"Then what was that a few seconds ago? You passed up on two opportunities to kiss me and I did not deserve that!" 

He pulled her close by the waist and kissed her, their lips locking together perfectly, elicting deep moans from both of them. 

"Are we good now?" Adrien asked breathlessly once he pulled away. 

"Not even close." Marinette pulled him back to her lips by his collar, and he happily obliged, lifting her chin up and tilting his head, deepening the kiss.

"At this rate those cookies will never get made." Plagg said irritatedly from the top of a bookcase. 

"You like seeing them happy, Plagg, admit it." Tikki snuggled against him. 

"I'm only happy they're no longer being blind idiots." Plagg huffed. "But I'd rather take that over this. Atleast that was funny sometimes, watching him pine over the same girl." 

Tikki didn't bother to correct him. Instead, she smiled. She knew Plagg well enough to see through his blunt words, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What even happened  
> I swear this was supposed to be an angsty one about nightmares
> 
> ....what happened brain


	25. Day 25: Cheek Kiss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They say a picture is worth a thousand words. In their case, a kiss was worth a thousand more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Take this really random one-shot-

"What's going on, you two?" Alya asked her two friends sitting in front of her. 

"Oh, it's nothing." Marinette said, her eyes twinkling. 

"Marinette's just happy my dad didn't cause any problems." Adrien said with a sigh of relief, taking Marinette's hand and kissing the top of it. 

"Normally I'd ask why you two are still celebrating that even though it has a been a week since that happened....but considering your old man, bro? It's pretty fair." Nino said. "Als, they're happy all the time, let them have their moment." 

"No way, do you know how long I have waited to tease these two once they do become a couple?" Alya said with an air of shock. "This is MY moment." 

Which made Marinette roll her eyes and Adrien and Nino laugh. 

"Alright, class." Miss Bustier strolled inside the room. "Turn your books to-" 

"I AM THE FIRE OF DOOM!!" A huge, red blob of what seemed like hot lava roared from the opposite building. 

And it seemed to have its eyes on the school.

"Really. And I haven't even started classes yet." Miss Bustier hung her head. "Alright class, let's go outside and wait until-" 

The class was already out.

"-Ladybug and Chat Noir show up." Miss Bustier finished.

"You go this way, I'll go that way." Marinette whispered to Adrien. 

They had purposefully lagged behind at the back so that no one would realise they were gone that immediately. 

"Got it." Adrien nodded and took off, but was held back by Marinette's hand on his forearm. 

She pulled him back to her with unsurprising amounts of strength and placed a loud resounding kiss on his cheek. 

"That's 42 for me." She whispered in his ear. "You really need to cat-ch up, you're still at 32."

"Wait, no!" Adrien protested. "I kissed your hand in the classroom. That's 33 for you, missy."

"It was in front of everyone!!" Marinette yelled back at him, laughing at his dumbstruck face as she ran away. "The whole point of our bet is secrecy!!" 

\-------

They jumped down into the school's storage room once the Akuma was defeated. 

"Spots off." Ladybug transformed back into Marinette as Adrien's timer ran out by itself. 

"We should - oof." Adrien said lightly as Marinette threw her arms around his middle. 

"Princess-" Adrien began but she cut him off, her eyes glassy. 

"Don't 'princess' me." She cut him off. "What were you thinking?!" 

"He was about to throw lava at you!!" Adrien countered. "I had no choice!"

"Yes you do!! You could have dragged yourself to safety along with me instead of getting hit!" She said angrily. 

Then her voice turned softer as she ran a hand up his ribcage. "You're not still hurt, are you?" 

"I'm fine, Bug." He said, kissing her nose. "That's 33, now. And you know your power solves everything back in the end." 

"Yeah." Marinette sighed. "It solves the problem but it doesn't erase the memory of the problem existing." 

Adrien face lagged. Because she was right. She would always bring him back, no matter what, but it didn't erase her several horrific memories of him getting attacked. 

But he was right too. She had to be the last one standing, and it was his job to pull all the stops to ensure that. 

"Hey," He kissed her forehead. 34, he counted. "I'm still here. You saved me." 

Marinette tried to glare at him, but it melted away. "You saved me first." 

"Now...I was told I need to catch up on my kisses." Adrien waggled his eyebrows and it was enough for her to giggle lightly. 

She pecked his lips. "43." She counted. 

He kissed the crown of her head. "35." Her right ear. "36." Her cheek. "37." 

He counted his way to her lips, and she didn't even protest or try to return his kisses. He was trying to comfort her the best he could. 

It was working wonderfully. His mouth was inching its way towards the curve of her neck, and he whispered the count against her skin before going for another.

Besides, she could always catch up later. 

\---------------

He was incredibly grumpy, and it was adorable. 

Even with the massive headstart she had given him, she was still in the lead with 50 and him at 48. 

_"How was I supposed to see you coming up behind me to kiss the back of my neck like that?"_ He said over texts that night. 

_"You weren't supposed to."_ She texted back, adding in laughing emojis for good measure.

_"Thanks a lot for that, by the way, the G thought I saw a ghost or something all the way back home."_

Marinette had to hold back her laughter. It was nearly going to be midnight, she noted. 

_"Well you know the rules, kitty cat."_ She replied. _"Whoever gets the most kisses without anyone noticing before midnight gets to plan our next date."_

A soft unmistakable thunk of his boots caught her hearing. 

"Is that so?" Chat Noir purred. 

"Hello there, superhero whom I definitely don't know." Marinette raised an eyebrow. 

"Don't you remember me?" He pouted. "You promised me last night that I would get a lot of kisses." 

"I promised my boyfriend that." Marinette said smugly. "Yeah, you should know my heart is already taken." 

"Oh I'm sure he won't mind." He stepped closer to her, lifting her chin up to his level. "In fact I'd say he'd encourage it." He softly pressed his lips to hers. "That's 49 for me."

"Come inside." She whispered, taking a look around the street. "Don't detransform just yet."

Once he came into her room and did detransform, Marinette couldn't contain her giggles as he bickered quietly with Plagg about his sleep schedule.

"Whatever. I'm going to Tikki." Plagg rolled his eyes. 

"Oh man!" Marinette pointed to her phone. "Look, it's midnight." She reached up on her tiptoes to kiss his nose. "I win." 

"Wait, what? No fair! You set me up!" 

"I did no such thing." Marinette said, unperturbed. "Check your phone, unless you changed the time to set me up." 

His disdainful face was comical, and it didn't even settle when she kissed his cheek to appease him.

"Cheer up...the next one is going to be amazing, especially since it's going to be just the two of us all alone, with no one to answer to." 

Adrien raised an eyebrow curiously. "What do you mean? The way you're saying makes me think....wait." He realised. "Are you talking about us as superheroes?" 

She nodded shyly. 

Adrien gawked. "But... even last week you insisted that we remain platonic, and that we couldn't go on dates except as ourselves." 

"Being the heroes is being ourselves." She slung her arms around his neck, and his automatically went to hold her waist. Her eyes saddened. "You really scared me today. I think if my timer didn't remind me I would have kissed you in front of the cameras." 

He took her palm and kissed it comfortingly. "I'm sorry." He said sincerely. "I'll try to be more careful next time. For you." 

Marinette nodded, peeking at him through her eyelashes.

"It's still dangerous for everyone else to know, but I don't think I can stand another second of looking at Chat Noir and pretending he isn't mine until the mask drops. The world doesn't need to know Ladybug and Chat Noir are together, do they? But that shouldn't stop them from being ridiculously in love with each other - behind closed doors, that is." 

"Are you serious?" He asked, absolutely giddy. "You really want to go on a date with me as Chat Noir?" 

"That is, if you're up for a bit of mystery while I'm at it." She said slyly.

He nodded rapidly like a cat that got the cream, his head bobbing endearingly.

"So, Chat Noir, will you go on a date with Ladybug?"

He swooped down to ravish her mouth, his tongue grazing her lower lip. His hands tightened around her back as he pulled her closer to his chest.

"Hey, I could be having it in an abandoned shack and I'd still be happy as long as I'm with you." 

She was postively breathless, her lips swollen from his ministrations. "You need to warn me before you kiss me like that." 

"I know it's past midnight, but does that kiss count?" 

"They all do."


	26. Day 26: Sick Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette catches a bug going around. Thanks goodness Adrien is there to catch her too.

"Marinette, this is the third time this week you are late." Miss Bustier said disapprovingly. 

"Sorry, Miss Bustier." Marinette hung her head as she slid into the bench next to Adrien, sniffling a little. 

The noise startled Adrien and his head spun so quickly in her direction he cricked his neck. Was Marinette crying? 

Things were fine yesterday at patrol...what happened last night? He mused worriedly. 

She was still bending over her notebook, not meeting his eyes. Her nose was redder than ever, he noticed, which must have been the reason she was sniffling. 

Adrien was about to come to the conclusion that Marinette was indeed crying, when he saw her pull out a handkerchief and sneeze violently into it. 

The class jumped a little at the sudden noise, but went back to normal a second later. 

Miss Bustier was still facing the board, and Adrien took the opportunity to place a hand over Marinette's, making her look at him. 

She looked up at him equally startled by his touch as Adrien was by her cold skin. 

Adrien's face melted into worry when he saw Marinette's eyes were bloodshot, not from tears, but from lack of sleep, coupled with the dark circles underneath them. She looked incredibly wan and pale, like even making that 'I'm fine' expression on her face was wearing her out. 

She coughed once yesterday. He didn't think it'd escalate enough to get her sick! 

"Marinette!" Alya whispered worriedly from behind her. "Girl, are you sick?" 

She inhaled deeply, and from what it seemed, painfully, and whispered a 'No!' stubbornly. 

"Dudette, you really shouldn't have come to school." Nino narrowed his eyes at her. "You look terrible." 

"We had.." she coughed, and Adrien winced at how raspy her voice sounded. "We have that Bio test today." She said in a clearer, yet exhausted voice. 

"You still shouldn't have-" Adrien began to retort, but was cut off by Miss Bustier clearing her throat irritatedly. 

"If you four are going to chit chat in my class I highly suggest you do it outside." She said sternly. 

"But Miss Bustier-" Adrien winced as he felt Marinette kick his shin sharply underneath the table. 

"Sorry Miss Bustier." She said apologetically, schooling her voice to sound normal. 

Then she turned to glare at her three friends, willing them to stay silent. 

Her expression was scary enough to quiet down Nino, and even Alya let her off with an exasperated sigh. 

Adrien however, barely took notes the entire lesson, his attention completely on Marinette. 

Her usually neat handwriting was wobbly and all over the page, and it wasn't until a few minutes later that he realised that Marinette was actually shivering. 

His hands went to his overshirt on a reflex, but Miss Bustier turned around again, her attention zeroing on him. 

"Adrien, can you please repeat what I said just now?" 

"Uh...I...you were talking about Voltaire..?" Adrien trailed off awkwardly. 

His answer made a few people giggle.

"We are doing literature, Adrien, not French history." Miss Bustier said, her hands on her hips. 

"Sorry, Miss Bustier." Adrien said, his brain working fast to find a way to help Marinette without drawing attention to her. "I was distracted because it's kind of cold here in this corner of the class." 

Chloe snorted. "Seriously, Adrikins? It's the middle of summer!" 

"Actually," Nino said, catching on to what Adrien was trying to do. "I feel cold too, Miss Bustier." 

"Same here!" Alya piped up. "Would it be okay if we turned off this fan alone?" 

"Marinette?" She prompted. 

"Oh. Um. Okay." She said, caught up in her own surprise. 

"Alright then, Alya." Miss Bustier said. "Turn the fan off. But no more distractions from any of you." 

Marinette smiled weakly at her friends, even though she was still trying to downplay how sick she was. 

Adrien on the other hand was deeply restless, even though he didn't get called on for the rest of the lesson. How was he going to watch her remain so obviously uncomfortable and stubborn? 

How did Tom and Sabine even let her out of the house in this condition? They weren't like his father, they wouldn't ask her to go to school while she was running a fever just so she could write some test. 

Even though Marinette's shivers had resided, she wasn't sweating like him, Alya and Nino were. Did she atleast swallow some pills before she came to school? 

Two, torturous hours later, the lesson ended. The minute Miss Bustier left, Adrien swooped down on Marinette like the protective cat he was, wrapping his overshirt around his girlfriend, effectively bundling her in it. 

"Adrien!!" She protested. "I'm fine! You don't need to do this!" 

"Is she sick?" Alix asked, concern laced in her voice as she passed by. "Normally I'd pass this off to be lovesick behaviour, but Marinette, you look awful." 

"No, I don't!" Marinette said. 

"Yes. You do." Alya said sternly as Nino handed her her packed bag, offering her a sympathetic smile. 

"That's it, I'm taking you to the nurse." Adrien took her hand and gently guided her out of the bench. 

"Adrien, I can't go home!! I studied for that test for far too long-" 

"You'll have more time to study it then." Alix said. 

"Not helping." She gritted her teeth. 

"You all should go to Miss Mendelieev's class." Adrien said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I'll deal with her." 

"Alright, suit yourself." Alix shrugged. "I'll let her know you'll be late. Take care of yourself, Marinette. Seriously." 

"There is nothing to ' deal' with, here." Marinette said, stubbornly stalking down the step and walking over to the door. "Seriously, I am fine....?" 

Green spots suddenly danced in her vision, and she felt herself lose her footing, only to fall behind against a chest, strong arms catching her own. 

"Yes, you clearly are." Adrien couldn't help snarking. 

"Marinette, don't worry, I'm sure Miss Mendelieev will let you write the test on a different day." Nino said, as Adrien steadied her on her feet. 

"Adrien." Alya tossed him Marinette's bag. "Make sure the stubborn pack mule gets home for me, will you?" 

"Hey!" Marinette said indignantly.

"Will do." Adrien nodded, slinging Marinette's bag on his back. "Tell Miss Mendelieev where I've gone, okay?" 

She waited until Alya and Nino were out of earshot to turn on him. "Adrien, I can't be sick." She hissed. "What if an Akuma comes by?? I can't just stand back and do nothing!" 

"I'll just come over to you and get your earrings from you. I can fight as Mister Bug." He said nonchalantly, pressing the back of his hand to her forehead, then moving to touch her cheeks and her neck. 

"You're burning up. How did you even get out of the house like this? Fight your parents tooth and nail?" 

Marinette glared at him. "Yes." She finally conceded. 

"M'lady..." He sighed, slinging his bag across his body, wrapping an arm around her waist and underneath her legs. "You need to take better care of yourself." He scooped her into his arms bridal style. "You're taking on too much." 

"I didn't mean to." His heart sank at how much she was burrowing herself into his shirt and his arms, desperate for warmth. 

"Of course I know you didn't." He soothed her gently as he walked out of the classroom and in the direction of the nurse's office. "But I can see the toll it's taking on you. Which is why I am asking you to let me help you sometimes." 

She didn't answer, only buried her face into his neck, her arms fisting inside his shirt pockets.   
"Where's Plagg?" She asked. 

"In my bag. He's never in my shirt during class. And you're changing the subject." 

"Sorry." She mumbled.

"You don't have to apologise. Just let me take care of you sometimes, that's all I'm asking for. We don't have to go on patrols together every single day, you know? We could alternate days sometimes. And before you say anything, you are not getting out of your bed until you feel better. If an Akuma comes by, I'll drop by as Chat Noir to borrow the earrings." He said seriously. "Right now we can't have anyone else be Ladybug, Hawkmoth knows who they are." 

Marinette shivered deliriously, though she hung on to his every word. "You know I...." She suppressed a sneeze. "You know I don't trust anyone more to take my place. But...you can't wear two miraculouses at the same time, even if one isn't activated. Master Fu said that you should never ever try to unify the Ladybug and Chat, let alone wear them. You'll be exhausted!"

"Then I'll leave my ring and Plagg with you." He said. 

She looked stunned. 

"Don't look so surprised, you know there's no one I'd trust with my miraculous more than you." He stopped in his tracks for a second to gaze at her head resting on his shoulder.

"I know, but-"

"No buts." He said authoritatively. "Once I get you home, I'm texting Tikki every hour to make sure you are sleeping. Got it?" 

He was so hot when he was protective.

"Yes." She mumbled, trying to hide the blush in her cheeks that wasn't from the cold. 

"Good." He sighed. 

\----------  
Later that day, once school Adrien came climbing up into her room again, holding a closed container full of chicken soup. 

"Is...is that you?" Marinette didn't bother trying to raise her head. 

"Sorry." He whispered apologetically. "Did I wake you?" 

"I awoke myself a few minutes ago." She mumbled. "What is that?" 

"Your mom asked me to give this to you." He said, climbing up over to her bed. "Hey, Tikki." Adrien waved at the kwami as he tried to help his girlfriend sit up. "How is her temperature?" 

"It was at a 103° this morning." Tikki informed. "Now it's at 101°." 

"Hey, not bad." Adrien grinned at her. "Look where a little bit of rest got you." 

"Okay fine, I guess I shouldn't have been so stubborn." 

"Don't stop being completely stubborn though. That makes you,the you I fell for." Adrien said, opening up the box carefully and handing it to Marinette, giving her the spoon as well. 

"Are you sure you should be here?" Marinette said, swallowing the first mouthful of the spicy liquid. 

"I texted Natalie and my bodyguard." He said.

"Adrien, I'll get you sick too!!" 

"I don't care." 

"Who's the stubborn one now?" Marinette retorted. 

"Definitely not either of you." Plagg muttered, flying out of Adrien's bag. "Hey, Marinette." 

"Hi Plagg. Could you tell Adrien that his father would kill me if he got sick as well?" 

"Plagg, tell Marinette that she should know better if she thinks I'd let that happen."

"All I'M going to tell either of you is to leave me to my cheese. I'm not responsible for your petty bickering."

A moment later, Marinette actually laughed. "He's kind of right, though." 

"Only kind of?" Plagg said, offended.

Adrien, Marinette and Tikki laughed at the grumpy Kwami. 

"What happened in school?" 

"Oh, I actually missed the test too. By the time I got back to class it was almost done. Miss Mendelieev says that the two of us have to write it together once you come back to school next week." 

"Next week??!" Marinette sputtered.

"I'm bringing your school notes everyday." He assured her, pointing to his bag, which he'd left on her chaise. "You did that for me on more than one occasion. It's the least I can do." 

Marinette quietly looked at him over her bowl of soup. 

"Is everything okay?" Adrien asked her. 

"If I wasn't sick right now, I think I just might grab you and kiss you senseless." She said quietly.

A red faced Adrien nearly fell off her bed in astonishment.

"What's the matter, Kitty?" Marinette somehow found the energy to smirk deviously even in her tiredness. "You can dish it out but you can't take it?" 

"Seriously??!!" Plagg wailed, zooming around the room, covering his kitten ears. "Keep it PG -13!! Please!!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm definitely on Plagg's kill list lol


	27. Day 27: Naps

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette didn't make Adrien's nightmares go away completely, but she did make fighting them easier.

"Tikki!!" Marinette heard Plagg say, then looked up to see him flying inside her room, prodding her sleeping Kwami.

Tikki mumbled something in her sleep, simply rolled over and fell asleep again. 

Plagg took matters into his own hands by pushing her off her tiny cushion.

"Wha-" Tikki managed to escape falling on Marinette's bed when she remembered she could fly. 

Marinette yawned loudly, turning on her back. "whatsamatter...." She muttered, closiny her eyes, trying to get back into her dream. 

"Hey, hey, both of you, wake up right NOW!!" The sheer urgency in Plagg's voice made them tear their eyes open.

"Plagg?" Marinette took a good look at the black Kwami. In her room. Without Adrien. At....2:40 AM. 

Her arm definitely hurt when she pinched it. 

"You're not in my dream?" Marinette groggily said. 

"What's wrong, Plagg?" Tikki flew to him. "Why are you here?" 

The implications for Plagg's presence in her room clawed at her like hungry predators for food. 

"What happened to Adrien?? Is he hurt??! Was there an Akuma?!" Marinette shot up like a needle in her bed. 

"No, no, none of those." Plagg said, though the urgency in his voice didn't fade. "But Adrien needs you. He.. he's having a nightmare- and he's clawing at the bed, trying to get away and I can't wake him up no matter what I try!!" 

The visual Plagg was explaining formed in her head, and that - that by far was worse than all the nightmares she had combined.

"I'm sorry I woke you, but if he had woken up he would have refused to talk to me about it and I don't know what to do!!" 

Plagg's love for Adrien shone through his broken voice and completely lost expression. 

"Please, please, help him! He's been like this for days-" 

"Days?!" Tikki shrieked. 

"Say no more." Marinette's features hardened. "Tikki, spots on." 

"Lead me to him, Plagg." Ladybug said, climbing on to her balcony. 

Before Plagg flew away, he took a moment to softly headbutt her. "Thank you." He said. 

That definitely meant a lot, Marinette knew, since Adrien told her he never thanked anyone or anything. 

Her insides turned into ice when she thought of Adrien, the ice shattered into splinters when she imagined him becoming a victim of an akuma.

"I'm coming, kitty." She whispered to herself as she took off. 

\----------------  
"Plagg?!" Adrien dumped his pillows on the floor, opening and reopening every cabinet in his room, even turning them upside down, looking for his lost Kwami.

Did Wayzz or Master Fu take him away again? 

No, Master Fu was gone for ages. Wayzz was with Marinette. 

His ring was still with him.

Then...  
Did Plagg leave him of his own accord? 

No. 

No, that couldn't be. 

He was awake. He wasn't dreaming anymore. He wasn't accepting Sass and leaving behind Plagg. 

Or...did he do that? He stared at his empty wrist, devoid of the switch that made him turn back time. He DID do that.  
And now Plagg realised what he did and-

"Adrien??" 

He spun around, bracing himself for the scolding he was going to get for being out of bed and messing up his room.

He didn't see anyone at the door. 

Then who-

"Plagg??" He whispered, seeing his kwami over by the window. 

"Oh, you're awake!!" His kwami was laughing. 

He knew it was laced with relief, and now he knew he didn't leave him. Still, the dormant anger in him didn't subside.

"Where were you?!" He yelled. "Do you know how sc-WORRIED I was?!" 

"Woah, slow your roll, there!" Plagg retorted. "You didn't think I abandoned you, did you?" 

"What do you expect me to think?!" Adrien replied hotly. "I wake up and you're nowhere to be found!" 

"You were having a nightmare!!" Plagg was yelling. "I went to get you help!" 

"No, I wasn't!" He lied fiercely. "And what help-" 

He was interrupted by the sound of knocking. 

His first instinct was to turn to the door, but the knock didn't sound like it was made out of wood.   
He looked up to see Ladybug knocking on his window, with an alarmed look on her face. 

No wonder she was alarmed. He must have looked like a madman with his clothes rumpled and hair sticking out in different places on his head. 

He scrambled for the remote on his couch and pressed the button he needed to let her in. 

She landed on his floor, detransformed and looked at him, her hands coming up in a gesture of peace. "He came to get me, Adrien." Marinette said. 

"Oh." Was all Adrien could say. 

"Don't 'oh' me." Plagg grumbled. "So much for trying to help." 

"Plagg, I'm sorry." Adrien said, his heart twisting in guilt. "I didn't know." 

"Whatever." Plagg said, zooming into his cheese cabinet, but Adrien could have sworn he heard a sniffle. 

He facepalmed heavily. Why did he have to ruin everything around him?? 

"Adrien?" A kinder, gentler voice made him look up. 

"Don't worry." Tikki said. "I'll go talk to him. Plagg isn't mad at you, he's just worried." 

He nodded dumbly, and Tikki went to join her other half. 

His other half was suddenly in front of him, feeling his forehead for signs of illness. 

"I'm fine." He said, pushing her hand away gently. "I'm sorry you had to wake up for something like this." He muttered, his eyes on the ground.

"This isn't something trivial to me, Adrien." Marinette said. "I came to help." 

"Marinette... there's nothing you can do." Adrien said shortly, hating that he couldn't bring himself to open up to her. He wanted to, desperately wanted to. 

"Talk to me, Adrien." Marinett eyes were shining. "Please. Don't push me away. I want to help you through it." 

"It's my fault." He said, plopping on the couch. "I'm the idiot who chose the snake miraculous. I'm the stupid lovesick fool who tried to impress you instead of doing my job. You shouldn't be paying for my mistakes." 

"Is that what this is about?" Marinette took a seat next to him. "Did you dream about Desperada?" 

"Desperada didn't have to be in my dream." He said bitterly. "It was me. I was screwing things up." 

"Do you remember your dreams?" 

"Not.... usually." He said, the blankness in his eyes fading, leaving behind a horrific myriad of fear. 

He remembered every single one of his nightmares that involved her. In clear, vivid detail. 

"They're all the same." His voice breaking, the tears threatening to spill. "You disappear or you get hurt, or he" She knew he was talking about. "hurts you, and I'm wearing the snake miraculous..I use second chance, but the same thing happens." He was shaking uncontrollably, but Adrien was too proud to let himself lose against his own emotions. 

He had no right to. He chose to accept Ladybug's offer. He let her die several times. He is the one to blame. He had no right to cry. 

"I lose you. Again and again. I have had this same dream several times and I don't know how to stop it." 

"You're not going to lose me." Marinette said. She wasn't touching him, but her hand was only an inch away from his. She was letting him come to her. "You will never lose me. I won't let that happen. You won't let that happen." 

His pinky finger entangled with hers. "What if I do? The first 25,913 times were my fault." 

"No. They were not." Marinette - who was also Ladybug, he realised - said. "They were not your fault. You aren't perfect, Adrien, and no matter how much the world puts that pressure on you, I won't. You are free to make mistakes, you are free to mess up and I won't look at you as anything less than amazing in my eyes. Because you always take it upon yourself to be better." 

"When have I ever done that?" He asked sarcastically. 

"You do get angry sometimes, I'm not going to lie, but you always come back, realise your mistakes, and you make up for them. Need I remind you how you single-handedly defeated Miracle Queen?" She said. "You took the lead because you knew I couldn't. You could have gone on with your Second Chances but you chose to give it up so someone else could take your place. You are always there for me when I need you, even...even after I reject you."

"Don't... don't apologise for that." He interrupted. "You didn't have to say yes just because I confessed. I didn't hold that against you, and neither should you." 

"But it hurt, didn't it?" She said with a bittersweet smile. "Sometimes I think Chat and I are in the same position, but then I realise we aren't. Adrien didn't know Marinette was in love with him. Ladybug knew about Chat Noir. You knew, and you still didn't leave my side. Several times, even when I was afraid one day you would get fed up and leave, you still stuck by me." 

She tentatively touched his cheek, making him look at her. "And that is just one of the several brave things you did, Adrien." 

"I'm sorry I didn't notice that you were in love with me." He whispered. "I'm sorry for the pain I caused you, both as Adrien and Chat." 

"You didn't cause me pain. It was me. I kept on writing you letters, and making you gifts, but that was all because I was trying to avoid actually spitting out the words. Sometimes I would look at Chat and wonder how he could do it, how he could keep on letting Ladybug know he loved her when he wasn't going to hear it back from her. But either way, this isn't about me." She said, and before he could protest, she threw her arms around him, holding him close. 

"I don't regret how things played out. I wouldn't change the amazing friendship I experienced with you, and even before that, and our team and fighting with you. I don't regret a thing." 

He held her as close as humanly possible. He still couldn't begin to comprehend what he had done to deserve Marinette. She listened to him. She didn't blame him for his mistakes. She helped him get through them. She didn't tell him that it would all be over and to have hope. No, she actually gave him the hope that things would be better. 

"I don't want to lose you." The tears spilled on her bare shoulders. 

"That's what I think of almost every day too." She whispered into his ear. "Every time you throw yourself into danger for me, that's the only thing on my mind."

"I only do it because I have faith in you. I know you'll always bring me back." 

"What if..." She pulled away, and Adrien was startled to see that she had been crying too. His hands hastened to dry them. She shouldn't be crying for him. 

"What if I don't? What if one day we lose and I don't get you back? What if your trust in me is misplaced and I fail you, when you gave yourself to protect me?" 

A bit of her vulnerability was seeping into the conversation, but he didn't mind in the least. He liked that they could talk to each other. No, he loved it. 

"I'd rather hold on to that hope than live in a world without you." He said, his hand seeping into her loose hair, rubbing small circles on the scalp as his thumb traced her lips. 

She pressed her lips to his, and he deepened it, pushing himself closer to her, letting her touch completely take over him. Her hands were on his chest, one of them right over his heart. 

He hoped she could see that his heartbeat, which was usually rapid and fast when they kissed, was slowing down, his anxiety winding down as they held each other. 

He pulled away, touching their foreheads together. "Stay here. Please. Just for tonight." 

"Are you sure?" Marinette asked, an eye to the door. "What if someone comes in to wake you up?" 

"They don't check on me until 7:30 in the morning." He said. 

"Ah." Marinette said. "Then I'll have to set an alarm - oh crap." She grimaced. 

"What's wrong?"

"I kind of left my phone behind. I was in a hurry to see you." She said sheepishly. 

"No worries." He took his phone and quickly set an alarm for 6 AM, before realising that he was assuming things too much. "Uh, that is if you want to. I'm not forcing you, I promise." 

She kissed him briefly. "There's nothing I want more. One moment, I'll just tell Tikki that." 

Hearing her talk about her kwami, reminded him of his own. "I have to talk to Plagg too." 

"Don't worry." Marinette squeezed his hand. "I'm guessing he won't let you in on it, but he loves you very much. I had never seen him look as scared as he did when he came to get me." 

"I wasn't scared." An indignant muffle came from the cheese cabinet. A rumpled-looking black creature emerged from it. "I'm not scared of anything." 

"You big liar." Adrien said, his loving voice devoid of any resentment or anger. 

"Well, you're one to talk." Plagg threw himself into Adrien's chest, and he held him there for a long while. 

"They have a very interesting relationship, don't they?" Tikki said quietly, perching on Marinette's shoulder. 

"True." Marinette agreed. Adrien and Plagg weren't very vocal about their affection for each other, they chose to be more sarcastic about it, but every single one of them was laced with the genuine bond they shared with each other. They didn't say they loved each other, but they did. 

"Are you okay if we stayed here for the night?" Marinette asked.

"No worries, Marinette. I'm glad you and Adrien are leaning on each other like this. We'll just leave early in the morning." 

They ended up tangled together on Adrien's couch, too tired to go to his bed. 

When he opened his eyes the next morning to the sound of his alarm, he realised that they went to sleep with her head on his chest, and his arm around her, and now he was spooning her from behind, her back pressed against his chest and his nose nuzzled against her neck. 

It wasn't until Adrien turned off his alarm that he realised he actually slept. 

Marinette's peaceful face when she was sleeping was too adorable for him. He almost decided against waking her up. 

But if Natalie walked in, the results would be too disastrous for both of them. 

Reluctantly, he pressed kisses against her shoulder, trailing his way to her neck. 

"Marinette...." He sang in her ear. "Wakey wakey."

"I know what you are doing." She grumbled, not budging from her place. 

"You've gotta go now if you don't wanna be caught." He kissed her ear. 

Sighing irritatedly, she turned around and buried her face in his chest. "No. Too warm." 

Adrien sighed half-heartedly. He wanted nothing more than to hold her all day, but she had to go back. 

"Alright then, sleepyhead. You asked for it." He pushed himself off of her. 

"Noooooo, Adrieeennn." She pouted, then it turned into a quiet yelp as he picked her up bridal style. 

"I know better than to wake you up in the mornings, Bug." He chuckled, feeling a million times better than he did last night. "I'll take you home. You just go back to sleep."

"Kay. Night." The readiness with which she accepted was ridiculously comical. 

"Plagg, claws out!" 

"What- no, I was sleepIIINGG-" Plagg's enraged shouts disappeared as he transformed, but it did wake Tikki up. 

"He's going to yell at me for being considerate about my girlfriend's sleep but not his, am I right?" He asked the sleepy kwami.

"You are scarily accurate." She replied.


	28. Day 28: Care Package

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette smothers Adrien with a package of love.

"Eesh. That party was AWFUL!!" Plagg flopped onto the pillow next to Adrien's head. 

"Tell me about it." Adrien hadn't even bothered to get out of his itchy suit. "I thought my cheeks would burst from smiling too much. 

"I thought we were actually going to go on a proper vacation!" Plagg grumbled. "We're in Cannes, for god's sake." 

"Sorry Plagg." Adrien chuckled good naturedly. "If you're going to be Adrien Agreste's kwami, those are the consequences." 

"Hmph." Plagg flew over to the platter of Camembert Adrien had ordered for him. 

"Wonder what the girls are doing though..." Adrien mumbled as he pulled out his phone. 

There was a sympathetic video message from Nino, but that was about it. 

A small tingle of anticipation fluttered in his chest as he thumbed up his phone to reveal Marinette's contact picture. 

He hadn't been able to talk at all for the past two days of his entire two weeks away. And Marinette, being the understanding angel she was, hadn't complained. 

Still, he felt like he was going nuts not knowing what was happening back in Paris. 

He first had to find a way to sneak around Natalie and his father just to call his girlfriend and blab nonsense about how much he missed her. 

That was nearly impossible. 

"Your conversations with Mlle Dupain-Cheng can wait. I don't want to see you putting pleasure before business. That is not how I raised you." His father had said. 

Natalie often paraphrased around that. 

Just then, the phone rang, and Adrien was confused, because his phone wasn't ringing. 

"It's the other phone, genius." Plagg said with a mouthful of cheese. 

Adrien raised an eyebrow curiously as he picked up the landline. "Hello?" 

"Hello, I'm calling from the reception, Monsieur, to inform you that you have a package to be delivered to." 

"Me?" Adrien echoed.

"Yes, room 317, is it not?" The receptionist repeated.

"Yes?...I mean, yes." Adrien cleared his throat.

"Would you like to collect it or should we send it over to your room?" 

Adrien thought. Technically he wasn't allowed to leave his room, and if he left he would be in for a sound lecture.

"Send it over, please." Adrien said.

\-----------  
Adrien didn't wait for the concierge to ring the bell, he went up to the door and waited with it open. 

It was a box. 

A beautifully decorated, artistically crafted box. 

"Ooooohhh." Plagg said. "Shiny. Who is it from?" 

Adrien had the widest grin on his face after reading the label. 

She had drawn a ladybug and a black cat on opposite corners of the box, with a dotted trail between them lined with a paper airplane. 

"Who else?" Adrien said, quickly crossing his legs and sitting down at the floor, his excitement preventing him from climbing on to the bed instead.

"Of course." Plagg gagged. "You two are positively sickening." 

Adrien carefully unwrapped the box, being mindful to not damage anything, because knowing Marinette, she probably went above and beyond just to make the box. 

"Plagg..." Adrien said, giving every lovesick fool in the world a run for his money. "She sent me a care package." 

"Care package??" Plagg perked up. "Those involve food, don't they?" 

Adrien looked at his kwami disdainfully, though he was right. 

Marinette had packed a container full of Roquefort cheese, probably freshly made from the bakery and properly preserved. 

"I remembered Plagg saying he wanted to sample some Roquefort!! Tikki and I send him our love!!" The letter attached to it said. 

Plagg was positively giddy with joy as he cradled the cheese close to him.  
"If you don't keep her, you are dead to me." He said, sniffling within tears. 

"She is definitely for keeps." Adrien smiled softly at Plagg's happiness. 

"Alright, what else is in here..." He muttered.

Marinette had sent him a box full of cookies and one with macarons.

"I wish I could have sent you more, but I really don't want to mess up your diet and get you in trouble. Xx" 

Adrien held back tears as he bit into some of them. The store bought pastries could never compare to Marinette's food. Especially since she poured so much love into it. 

There were printed photographs of what he knew she knew were their favourite spots in Paris. The Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, from the top of their school, from her balcony and so on. 

She wasn't exactly an expert in photography, he noticed, especially since some of them were taken with her yo yo, she often conceded that he was the better photographer with his experience in modeling. But still, maybe he was biased, but Marinette did an excellent job at capturing the essence of the photos. 

"Don't worry, there haven't been any attacks." The caption on one of the photos said. She doodled a little Ladybug next to it. 

"Do you remember the time we tried to go as high as possible using your baton?" Another one said. "I think we even entered the stratosphere. Lol Tikki was pissed."

"I was sitting here the other day and thinking about your people watching jokes." The one with the Eiffel Tower said. 

"I never thought I'd admit this, but I actually miss your puns." Another one said, and a smug smirk graced Adrien's face. "You're extremely loud, but the silence without you is even louder. <3" 

Plagg watched his owner melt into a gooey mess with disgust. "Seriously? You two are going to be apart for what? Three more days??" 

"She misses me Plagg." Adrien retorted. "She missed me so much she took the time to make all this for me because she missed me and I just - hold on a second." Adrien hugged the pictures to his chest as he pulled out something else. 

"It's a cat charm." Adrien said in awe like he'd never seen one before. "It's got to be for my lucky charm bracelet!! She got me another one!!!"

He knew that Marinette was acknowledging him both as Chat Noir and Aspik, the same person but who had to act differently to adapt to the situation. 

"Pathetic." Plagg rolled his eyes as he munched on Marinette's cheese. 

"I have to call her. Right now - wait. What is this?" Adrien frowned as he carefully arranged the photos back neatly. 

Adrien narrowed his eyes in disdain as he pulled out a ball of yarn. 

"Ha ha. Real funny." He deadpanned. 

Plagg burst into laughter. "What, did she give the sad kitten something to play with?" 

"Plagg." Adrien said threateningly. 

"Hey, how about you roll around with it and we can send her a video??" 

"One more word out of you, and you'll be eating processed cheese for the rest of the month." He threatened. 

That shut him up. 

He quickly began a video call with Marinette, whom he knew would be awake despite the late hour. 

"Heyyyy!!" She winked at him as she answered. 

"So." Adrien couldn't help smiling. "A ball of yarn, huh?" 

She giggled. "Sorry, I couldn't resist." 

She was outside on her balcony.

"I forgive you. Only because you are literally a goddess and you saved my entire day with that care package. Thank you thank you thank you." He said reverently, turning the camera to show her the opened package. 

"I wouldn't exactly say goddess.." Marinette was blushing. She was always so terrible at accepting compliments. 

"Yes. You are. You are my goddess." He said, turning the camera around. "I loved everything. The photos, the letters, the sweets-" 

"AND I LOVE THE CHEESE!" Plagg screamed off camera. 

"-and Plagg loved the cheese." He finished and Marinette giggled. "That was Tikki's choice actually. She was the one who suggested it." 

"Tell Sugarcube I miss her!!" Plagg said again. 

"She misses you too!" Marinette said a moment later. 

"I can't wait to see you." Adrien said. "And smother you with my care. Even if it doesn't involve packages." 

Marinette blushed heavily. "Me too, kitty. Me too."


	29. Day 29: Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A superhero's journey is never easy, but it was always full of memories. And one never did realise they were making them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can I just say that Taylor Swift is the queen of songfics? Literally all of her songs fitted what I was going for. It was so hard to choose one.  
> I ended up choosing 'Call It What You Want', easily the best song in Reputation, and one of her softest, simplest songs ever. I listened to it the other day and it screamed Love Square. 
> 
> If you haven't listened to it, I highly recommend it, especially while reading this fic. It's one of my favourite songs of all time.

_My castle crumbled overnight_

_I brought a knife to a gunfight_

_They took the crown, but it's alright_

_All the liars are calling me one_

_Nobody's heard from me for months_

_I'm doing better than I ever was,_

Ladybug swung herself away from the falling building just in time.

“Is it just me, or is Hawkmoth getting a lot more desperate?” Chat Noir grunted as he took her offered hand. “First it was a dragon trainer, then a literal dragon, and now some comic book enthusiast who thinks he’s a superhero. And has managed to convince all of Paris that we are the villains with his voodoo magic.”

Ladybug giggled slightly, despite her exhaustion. “You’re a superhero with an enthusiasm for comic books. And I think he called it the Mind Bend.”

He glared at his girlfriend. “Low move, Bugaboo. Low move. Who’s side are you on anyway? Did he use the Mind Bend on you too?” He asked in mock horror.

“Look out!” She said, grabbing his waist and jumping away from the akuma’s line of range. They did it just in time too, because all that was left behind was broken asphalt and the singing smell of smoke that burned through the air.

“Pfft. You want me to show him what a real cataclysm looks like?” He scoffed.

“What do you mean? He just did!!” Ladybug laughed as she swung away to land a lassoed grip on the akuma’s waist.

“Hey!!” Chat Noir joined her a few seconds ago. “I resent that. And as for you, M. Geek.” He narrowed his eyes at their target, who could not have been older than 12. “I think I’ll be taking your utility belt, thank you very much.” He grabbed the belt and cataclysmed it quickly.

The struggling akuma turned back into a boy, and a few seconds later, Paris was restored back to its original glory. Chat Noir had been incredibly kind to the boy, despite having mercilessly pelting him with insults during the entire battle. He had carried the starstruck kid on his waist, and turned to bid farewell to his superhero partner, who promptly placed a kiss on his cheek.

“Fighting is never half as exhausting as it looks like if you’re around.” She whispered into his ear. “Bug out!!”

\----------------- 

_All my flowers grew back as thorns_

_Windows boarded up after the storm_

_She built a fire just to keep me warm_

“Kitty?” She called as she landed on the highest spire of Notre Dame, her eyes searching for him.

“Here.” She heard a gloomy voice, and she found him sitting in front of the church bell, detransformed, and his head in between his knees, like a sorrowful cat’s tail.

“Adrien?” Ladybug asked cautiously, standing next to him.

He didn’t answer.

“Kitty, tell me what’s wrong.” She placed a hand on his shoulder, only to find that he was shaking.

“He won’t stop crying.” Plagg said, coming out of his pockets. “His father ditched him again. They were going to have dinner together today.“

“Plagg, no.” Adrien suddenly shot up, wiping away his tears. “I can’t. I don’t want to talk about it. Please.”

Marinette would never resent him for keeping his sullen moods to himself, although she did tell him time and time again that she would love nothing more than to help him through them. He could be just as stubborn as her sometimes, and with the help of a certain black kwami, she came to learn that Adrien didn’t want to spoil her day by venting to her, mostly because he was scared he would take out his anger on her.

“You don’t have to.” Ladybug said softly, rubbing his back as she sat down next to him. “Adrien, you can be anything you want with me. You can be quiet, you can be loud, you can be happy, and you can even be angry. I won’t....I would never hate you for wanting to just let it all out.” She kissed the shell of his ear. “You can’t keep on holding everything inside you like this.” She turned his face and he looked at her shoulder, still refusing to meet her eyes, scared that he would terrify her by showing her the lost, completely tired, lonely soul behind them.

“ You can be yourself with me. Just yourself.” She whispered, kissing his forehead.

He caved like an avalanche, throwing himself into her arms, surrendering to the warmth of her suit.

“Sometimes...” He sobbed into her shoulder. “Sometimes it feels like he hates me. Like he wishes I didn’t exist.”

“Don’t say that.” She dragged her hands around his scalp, ruffling it up even more. “I love you. I will always love you.”

\-----------------------------

_All the drama queens taking swings_

_All the jokers dressin' up as kings_

_They fade to nothing when I look at him_

Marinette ran for her life as her classmates ravaged the school for her, trying to obtain justice for her crimes against Lila.

The liar had gotten akumatised as Volpina again. Except this time, whatever she brought to life became TRUE, instead of being mere illusions. Volpina had declared that there was to be a bounty on Marinette alive.

And all of Paris had inhaled the magic dust from her flute, and no matter where she went, everyone was clawing at her, or hurling insults about what a pathetic loser she was, and how she didn’t deserve to live after what she had done.

Alya had already made a live mocking Marinette, revealing secrets that she had told her in confidence. Kagami had slashed at her with her bamboo sword, nearly leaving her with several bruises. Alix had nearly rollerbladed over her,and Chloe was in the middle of blathering to the French ARMY about how she needed to be terminated.

Of course, all of this could be solved if she could just find a place to hide. No matter where she went, she was mobbed again.

“What the- hey!” She shrieked when she felt an arm around her waist, carrying her away.

“Let me go!!” Marinette beat at the leather clad chest, only to pause realising she was hitting Chat Noir.

“Don’t worry.” Chat Noir winked as he leaped over rooftops. “You’re safe. I didn’t inhale her dust.”

Marinette breathed a sigh of relief against his chest. Adrien was the one she was truly worried about, especially since he had been away from school for a photoshoot. She could handle Alya hating her. She could handle her parents hating her. But they weren’t her superhero partner who she was hopelessly in love with. They also didn’t fight with her.

“Wait.” Marinette stiffened in his arms. “How do I know that you are the real Chat and you’re not just lying to take me right into Lila’s grasp??”

Chat Noir mused. “That’s a good point. Go ahead, ask me anything. Anything only I would know.”

“How many freckles do I have?”

“You have ten on your nose and cheeks.” He smirked. “Did I get that right?”

“Yep, you did! Say, how is Plagg?” She asked, still not convinced. “Did you feed him enough macarons?”

“Macarons?” He raised an eyebrow as they landed on the Eiffel Tower. “What macarons? You know very well he only eats Camembert.”

Marinette sighed in relief as she threw her arms around him. “Thank goodness it’s you. I was so scared she got to you too.”

He nuzzled her hair as he held her close. “Don’t worry, purrincess. I would never. Besides, if Lila declared that all of Paris is against you, then I am against all of Paris.” He pecked her lips softly as she sighed.

\----------------------

_And I know I make the same mistakes every time_

_Bridges burn, I never learn, at least I did one thing right_

_I did one thing right_

Adrien flopped onto his bed, anger coursing through his veins.

“I can’t believe him!!” He shouted to no one in particular, if one did not count a flying, cheese eating kwami. “I’ve missed school for the past week!! And he’s still harping on about how my last photoshoot needs to be even more perfect!! And it’s not even my fault!! He’s the one who designed those terrible clothes!”

“That’s it, let it all out.” Plagg patted his head. “Hey, does this mean his office can ‘accidentally' get wrecked? Ooooh, or even that ridiculous hairstyle he’s trying to pull off?”

“Don’t tempt me.” He growled.

His phone vibrated in his pocket, and he groaned. “That must be Natalie with tomorrow’s schedule. So much for a peaceful weekend.’

“Heyyyy, I don’t think it’s your father’s assistant. I think it’s your lovebug!” Plagg drawled as he stared at the screen.

_“Hey! How are you? Feeling better?”_

Adrien snorted and replied. _“As if. The father figure has his head stuck in his butt again.”_

“Ooohh, I like that!” Plagg cackled. Adrien had become a lot more lax in his ridiculous amount of obedience under Plagg and Marinette’s influence.

_“I’m sorry, kitty. XOXO. Why don’t you come over? It’s certainly late enough.”_

_“That sounds like heaven.”_

_“I’m building a blanket fort....I have cookies...”_

_“I really thought you couldn’t entice me more, you minx.”_

_“LOL you give me too much credit. You are easily tempted.”_

“Plagg, claws out!” He said, the grin on his face returning. All it took was one moment with her.

\---------------------

_I'm laughing with my lover, making forts under covers_

_Trust him like a brother, yeah, you know I did one thing right_

_Starry eyes sparkin' up my darkest night_

“I’m sorry I’m making this all about work.” Marinette said apologetically as she pulled out the Miracle Box from the furthest corners of her closet. “I would have postponed this for patrol but...”

“Hey,” Adrien said, patting the space next to him as he leaned back against the pillows. “Nothing could feel like work when it comes to you. Honestly, I’ve been craving this for like, forever.”

“Really?” She smiled teasingly at him as she sat next to him, letting his arm drop around her shoulders.

“Duh.” He simply said, like she should know that already. And she did.

“I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time, but...” Marinette hesitated. “I couldn’t think about what to do next, my mind is all muddled. I barely sleep these days thinking about who could be the proper replacements for all the miraculouses, and then I’m scared Hawkmoth will recognise them even then, and then I’m scared that all of this will lead to me, and then I’m scared that it will all lead to you-“

He shushed her by pulling her to his chest. 

_I want to wear his initial_

_On a chain round my neck, chain round my neck_

_Not because he owns me_

_But 'cause he really knows me_

_Which is more than they can say, I_

“You are the strongest, most bravest person I know. There’s literally no one that I can think of to be a better choice as a guardian. And I know what a stressful job that is. You and Master Fu didn’t get to complete your training. But you’re not alone. You have Plagg, you have Tikki, you have all the other kwamis and you have me. We won’t let you fall apart.”

She tucked her head underneath his chin. “I don’t want to make this decision without you. Master Fu...he had his own set of rules, but I don’t want to leave you out of anything. I trust you, kitty cat. I can’t do half the things I do as Ladybug without you. And...and I think I’ll be less scared if you’re around to help me remember.”

Adrien’s eyes flashed as he realised what she was talking about.

“That won’t happen.” He said fiercely, looking at her fear illuminated underneath the glow of her fairy lights.

“Just in case.” Marinette said reassuringly, trailing her hands down his arms.

He pulled her to him, kissing her long and hard, until her knees weakened and stars appeared in front of her eyes. “I won’t have to help you remember, because I won’t let you forget.”

She held his gaze for a while, drinking in his loving, protective words. “Shall we?”

He nodded, pulling the box closer to them. “Let’s do this.”

\--------------------------

It had been a long six months. Marinette realised as she stared out at the view Paris had to offer from her balcony.

The four years that had passed had been even longer.

Six months ago, an 18 year old Ladybug and Chat Noir, on the cusp of graduating from lycee, had defeated Hawkmoth.

Who happened to be Gabriel Agreste, the fashion mogul who happened to be a terrorist wreaking havoc on the city, who happened to be lying to his only son for years together.

To say Adrien went absolutely feral on him was an understatement. She had to pull him away before he murdered his father. She had hugged him to her tightly, reminding him that he was not a murderer, and that he was not his father.

Gabriel had been given a life sentence, along with his secretary Natalie Sancoeur, though she got an admittedly lesser sentence. The brand’s assets were seized by the government - Adrien did nothing to stop it, and a month later, he made the decision to sell the company and fire his bodyguard with a hefty pay out of gratitude.

He still had a considerable amount of money left over in his bank account, and his earnings as a model itself was enough for him to pay for a university degree in physics. Like he had always wanted, despite his father blatantly forcing him to get a business one.

Marinette had held his hand all throughout Gabriel and Natalie’s public trial, through his mother’s funeral, to moving out, through therapy and basically making his own life choices. Nino and Alya stubbornly stuck by him throughout everything as well. Chloe had quite the mouthful for Gabriel Agreste, as she proudly informed Adrien after visiting his jail cell. She and Marinette had come to a truce, allowing them to peacefully co-exist as Adrien’s mutual friends.

He often wondered out loud how they were still sticking by him, when he was nothing but a lost cause, which led to everyone angrily shushing him and saying that he was worth it all.

Marinette on the other hand, had been accepted to ESMOD by early decision. No one was surprised, all of Marinette’s friends knew of her immense aptitude in fashion, and her happy news were celebrated by her family, friends and Adrien for three whole days.

“Knock knock.” She heard a familiar voice behind her, coupled with the creaking of her opening hatch.

“Hey, you.” Marinette smiled, running over to offer him a hand in coming up over the balcony. “Are my parents done with dinner that soon?”

“No, I just came up to see you.” He quickly pecked her lips, though the worry in her voice didn’t subside.

“You weren’t mobbed by the press again, were you?”

Alya and Chloe teaming up would have been hilarious if it weren’t for the fact that they were only doing it to protect Adrien from the paparazzi and random nosy passers-by.

“Bug, it’s been six months.” He pulled her closer to his side as he leaned against her railing. “Right now I think everyone’s concern is that they get to freely express their emotions instead of being afraid of getting used for evil.”

They had been together for years, and yet Marinette couldn’t help but blush at how he completely towered over her, along with how good puberty had been to him. She traced the lines of his defined ribcage as she hummed in agreement. “You are amazing.” Marinette said, snuggling into his warmth.

“Not that I disagree...but why all of a sudden?”he said playfully, and Marinette sighed in relief. He had barely made a single joke or pun over the months, retreating into a hollow shell of his former self, though he was slowly coming out of it as well, with the help of his therapist and Marinette’s constant care and affection.

“Many people thought that this would be the end for you.” Adrien noted the possessive anger in his girlfriend’s voice, and he couldn’t help but sneak a kiss on her temple. “You don’t know how angry I was to turn on the television and see news reports mocking your condition, like you weren’t experiencing the worst kind of trauma possible. I swear, I would have transformed into Ladybug just to deck them all if Tikki hadn’t stopped me.”

“Yes, I know. You nearly broke my television once. And I love you for that.” He said, slightly amused, but still beyond grateful for her support. He still couldn’t believe that he, he of all people was lucky enough to be loved by this amazing, beautiful woman, who steadfastly stood by his side, through his anger (sometimes even at her), through his sadness, and his life changing.

“And I love you for being so strong throughout all this.” She countered. “You refused to let him decide who you were, and that was even before we found out who he was. I am so proud of you.”

“I couldn’t have done any of it without you.” He said, his eyes glistening. “I don’t know what I did to deserve you.”

“It isn’t about deserving a person.” Marinette said, quoting Tikki. “It’s just about loving them enough to stay.”

Adrien nuzzled her nose, before softly kissing her lips. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

_I recall late November, holdin' my breath_

_Slowly I said, "You don't need to save me_

_But would you run away with me?"_

_Yes_

“Do you mind if I change the subject for a bit?” He asked, and Marinette raised an eyebrow at the nervousness in his voice.

“Of course not, what’s on your mind?” She asked.

“Okay, so uh...” he rubbed the back of his neck “Did you decide where you are going to stay?” He asked offhandedly.

“During university?” She asked, and he nodded. “Well....” She trailed off. “I was thinking about moving in on campus, but I’m really not fond of that idea. I don’t want to be too far from you or my parents. Not by distance, but if I were to live in a dorm, I’d barely be able to leave to visit either of you. But my parents say that I should make good use of my scholarship, and...I guess I’m still thinking.”

“Moveinwithme?” He blurted out of nowhere.

“Huh?” Marinette said, confused. “What did you say?”

Adrien smacked his forehead at his stupidity.

“Adrien, what’s wrong?” Marinette asked, patting his chest.

“I had a full speech prepared, complete with puns about houses, and I had to ruin everything by literally spitting it out.” He said, his voice muffled through his hand. “I’m such a dumbass.”

“A speech for what?” Marinette asked. “What about houses? You’re losing me here, I don’t understand.”

“Okay, I’ll try this again.” He mumbled, pulling out two set of keys from his jacket. One had a cat charm on it, the other had a ladybug charm.

“Wha..? What are these?”

“Marinette, m’lady...” He said, moving them away from the railing by the hand because if this went as planned, she had the strength to bear hug them off her balcony. “I was thinking...since ESMOD and ESPCI are only a few minutes away from each other, you could....live with me?”

Her mouth dropped open. She still hadn’t said a word.

“You know I bought my apartment because it was so close to ESPCI and I researched the distance, even covered it by car!!” He was rambling, her reaction scaring him. “It only takes 20 minutes or so, and you’ve already been in my apartment so much you practically lived there while we were studying for bac and-“

“Yes.” She breathed, shutting him up.

_My baby's fit like a daydream_

_Walking with his head down_

_I'm the one he's walking to_

_So call it what you want, yeah, call it what you want to_

“Oh, no worries, I understand, no pressure at all I – wait, did you say yes?”

“YES!!” Marinette shrieked happily, jumping into his arms, making him drop the keys. Years of practiced ease and ability to anticipate her moves had saved him – her legs went around his waist and he was holding her up by hers, otherwise his back would have hit the floor. “Yes, I’ll move in with you!”

“Yes??” Adrien repeated dumbly, hardly able to believe it. 

“Yes, you silly cat.” She kissed him repeatedly all over his face, each one reassuring him that yes, she did say yes, and she didn’t laugh at him or slap him for his stupid idea.

“Oh my god you said yes.” He replied numbly, his hands gripping her waist, still not out of his dazed stupor.

_My baby's fly like a jet stream_

_High above the whole scene_

_Loves me like I'm brand new_

_So call it what you want, yeah, call it what you want to_

“Why would I say anything else?” She hugged him tightly, squealing.

“No, of course you wouldn’t.” He said, coming to his senses.

“I love you.” She said immediately, kissing him again and making him completely lose any sense of self awareness, her being his only anchor to the living, breathing world.

“I love you too.” He said against her lips, not letting her go even as she pulled away. For the first time in six months, something in his life was going right.

_Call it what you want, yeah_

_Call it what you want to_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this is my favourite of all the prompts so far.
> 
> It's safe to say I threw my heart into the fire and melted it.  
> What have I done?


	30. Day 30: Ice Cream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette scouts the city of Paris to look for the marks her kitty has left behind.

_“Hey there, Bugaboo! If you are reading this, then I presume Tikki managed to wake you up at the right time, and that you are annoyed at being woken up, because let’s face it, you aren’t a morning person. Well, the fair princess need not fret, because her knight is going to make today the best Valentine’s Day ever! Especially since said knight is extremely sorry he couldn’t make it from London in time on the 14th.”_

  
“Wow. He really did write this.” Marinette said, with a snarky edge, though she was grinning from ear to ear.  
“Marinette, the rest of it is even more amazing, go on, continue reading!!” Tikki urged.  
“Wait, did you read this already?”  
“I’m a fast reader.”

  
_“I had Tikki hide roses in certain places in Paris, and she will take you there. It really seems like a pointless thing to do, I know, but trust me, I am going somewhere with this._  
_I love you,_  
_Yours forever,_  
_Adrien.”_

  
Marinette jumped out of the bed she and Adrien usually shared, rushing to the door. “Well, what are we waiting for?? Let’s go!!!”

  
“Normal people brush their teeth first.” Tikki deadpanned, and Marinette stopped in her tracks, smiling guiltily as she ran over to the bathroom instead.  
\-------------------  
“Okay, so where to first?” An excited Marinette stood in front of her car, waiting to open the door.

  
“Actually, I think it would be better if we took the fast way.” Tikki smiled guilely. “It means more to both of you in a way if you were to do this as Ladybug.”  
Marinette stared at her kwami, pondering over her words. “You know what?” She said resolutely. “You are right. Let’s do this, Tikki –“

  
“Woah, I haven’t even told you where to go yet!” Tikki laughed. “The first place you have to go, is the place where Adrien gave the first present you got from him.”  
Marinette raised an eyebrow. “Huh. Interesting. But not hard. Tikki, spots on!”  
\-------------------  
Marinette walked in front of her old school, looking up at how much had changed since the several years she had moved on from being a middle schooler. There was an extra block she could easily hide behind to detransform, especially since Valentine’s Day fell on a Sunday that year and schools were out.  
“Okay, so he gave me the umbrella in front of the school gates.” Marinette mused, looking at the old wooden doors, one of the few things that hadn’t changed.  
A flash of green caught her eye. A green rose was tied to the door handle.  
“There it is!!” Marinette said, squealing. “There it is, Tikki! Wait, how on earth did he get a green rose?”  
“Of course, Marinette, I tied it there in the first place” Tikki said, though her happy smile at her owner’s giddiness didn’t subside.  
“Wait...there’s a letter attached.” Marinette gasped. “That dork.”

  
_“Well, it seems like you figured it out! But am I surprised? Of course not. You are the smartest person I know. As for the green rose, this cat has his ways, hehe._  
_Anyway, when I think about the particular place you are standing right now, I always think about my first day at school. When I didn’t even make it past roll call without making a complete fool of myself in front of this really cute girl in pigtails."_

  
“God, I was an idiot.” Marinette muttered to herself.

  
_“But still, she looked nice. So I decided to give it one more chance. You have no idea how scared I was to admit that in reality, I wasn’t this suave and effortless model on a billboard in real life as well. I thought at first you would brush me off again, but still, I went for the truth. I never had any friends before, I never even had the faintest idea what school was like, and yet, there I was, after enrolling myself and running away. When I gave you that umbrella, I was terrified that I messed up again, instead I was face to face in front one of my oldest and longest friends to this date._  
_Green represents new beginnings. I finally got through to you, and you accepted me for who I was. I will always be grateful for not trusting the weather report that day, because that black umbrella lead me to you.”_

  
Marinette hugged the letter to her chest, on the verge of tears. “I’m going to cry a lot today, aren’t I?”  
Tikki simply nuzzled her cheek. “Do you want to go to the next one? Or do you need some time?”

  
Marinette wiped away the single tear on her cheek. “No, let’s go.”  
“The next one isn’t that far off, actually.” Tikki informed. “The next place is where you willingly gave him a space and time to listen about what was bothering him for the first time.”  
“What?” Marinette’s mouth dropped open. “But that leaves half of the entire city!!”

  
“I wasn’t talking about Adrien, Marinette.” Tikki said mischeviously, with an expression she would normally only see in Plagg.  
“Then who were you – ohhhhh.” Marinette realised, looking at the closed bakery opposite her school.  
“Chat Noir, huh?” She smirked. “I guess it’s time we paid a visit to my old home!”  
\-------------------  
Marinette was beyond surprised when she realised her parents were in on Adrien’s shenanigans as well.  
“Oh that sweet boy is such a romantic!!” Tom had sighed over his cup of tea. “This reminds me of the times I used to –“  
“Tom!!” Sabine chided, a frantic look on her face.  
“What?” Marinette was confused. “What did he say?”  
“Nothing, dear!” Sabine said, a fixed smile on her face. “We just don’t want to give everything away-“  
“Now who’s being the blabbermouth?” Her father teased, and her mother giggled, patting his arm affectionately.  
“Okay, what is going on??” Marinette said, her hands on her hips. “You two are acting very weird. Weirder than normal. What is that cat- I mean, Adrien planning??”  
Tom and Sabine just stared at their adult daughter and sighed happily. “Ah, young love. You two are so adorable.” Sabine said, her hands clutched over her heart.

  
“Ooookaayyyy.” Marinette said, walking backwards away from the living room. “Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to get my next letter.”  
“Oh!” Tom jumped for joy as much as he was able. “She already knows where it is!! You kids know each other that well!”

  
“Papa!!” Marinette glared at her father, but she couldn’t stay annoyed for long, especially when she knew how much her parents loved Adrien, as if he were their own son.  
“Okay, I’m going!!” Marinette ran away from there before her parents could coo over them even more.  
\---------------------------------  
This time it was a pink rose, one which, Marinette realised, was also the colour of the rose he gave her during that one time he came over for dinner.  
She didn’t know if she wanted to laugh or cringe at the amount of times they screwed each other over because of their identities.  
And it seemed like Adrien thought the same.

  
_“Man, we were such idiots, huh? I was telling how I was disappointed by you not showing up to the date I set up for you TO YOU. Now I just look back and I laugh at it._  
_And cringe a little bit too, because I had no right to be angry at you that day. I still think about it and feel like kicking myself. But in a way, a lot of good came out of that day too. I became closer with Marinette, who was kind enough to listen to this lonely alley cat’s heart problems. And, I got to know that even if Ladybug wasn’t IN love with me, it was okay, because I was her friend, and she loved me enough already._  
_Pink is for friendship. As much as I love being your man, I love even more that we are each other’s best friends._  
_I went to sleep that night thinking what I did to deserve these two amazing women. Turns out there was only ever one.”_

  
“That stupid cat.” Marinette sniffled. “I’m going to kill him.”  
“Oh, I’m sure he knows.” Tikki said from her perch in Marinette’s high bun.  
‘Alright, where is my next clue?” Marinette asked.  
“You may have to get suited up for this one.” Tikki warned. “Okay, so the next place is one of the highest places in Paris, and you two...well, let’s say you two had a lot of moments there.”

  
“The sewers?” Marinette guessed.  
“Did you miss the part where I said the highest place in Paris?” Tikki said tiredly. “Honestly, even he had the same idea, and Plagg was all for it until I put my foot down. I am not tying a rose and a letter in the sewers, and we are not going there.” She had floated up to Marinette’s eyes, staring her down. “Got it, young lady?”  
“Yes, ma’am.” Marinette said immediately.

  
“Good. Now try again.” Tikki said.  
“Okay. The highest place in Paris is Montmatre.” Marinette pointed out. “But we’ve never been there... so it narrows it down to the Eiffel Tower, or Montparnasse....Tikki, your clue is very vague.” She sighed.  
“You two kissed there!!” She blurted.  
“But we’ve kissed at both those places!!”

  
“For the first time!” Tikki corrected.  
“In case you haven’t realised, we had several ‘first kisses’, first it was when I had to save him from Dark Cupid, and then Oblivio, and then he saved me from Dark Cupid, and then we kissed at the mall –“  
“He threw himself off of it because he trusted you to save him!!”  
“Uh, have you met Adrien? He does that half the time.”

  
“You two are so confusing!!” Tikki wrung her tiny hands. “Fine, I’ll give you the answer, but only because I refuse to think up more clues on the spot. It’s Montparnasse Tower, now let’s go.” The harassed looking kwami phased into her old room.  
\-------------------------------------------  
Ladybug landed on top of the Tower, searching for any sight of color in the midst of the grey concrete and transparent glass.  
“Alright...where has he hidden it?” The former heroine muttered as she looked around, trying to find something that spotted her keen eye.  
Her resolute sigh when she realised Adrien had Tikki tie the next rose, which was orange, to one of the balcony lights was extremely comical. It was like Adrien knew she would find it, because it was practically invisible to the normal eye, unless of course, you were Ladybug and your job involves finding random things and making a convoluted plan out of them.  
“He knows me so well.” She sighed dreamily as she untied the orange rose and the letter attached to it.

  
_“I asked Tikki to tie it to one of the lights, because guess what? You are the light of my life!!_  
_I can see that you are not amused even as I write this._  
_Do you remember the time we kissed over here? Of course you don’t. Oblivio made us forget. I remember both us being completely baffled as to how and why we kissed, and now it’s plainly obvious._  
_I write that as I stare at my lockscreen, which is us kissing on that day and sighing like an idiot in love._  
_But that is not the only memory that place holds. Do you remember when my bodyguard got akumatised? And you asked me to jump?”_

  
Marinette could never forget that moment easily. Her horror as she watched Adrien fall to his apparent death, all the while being powerless to stop it still brought nightmares.

  
_“I did it immediately. I didn’t think. I didn’t have to think. I knew you had a plan, and if that didn’t work, you would have had a backup one. I can now see you screaming in your head, why didn’t I transform? Bugaboo, I trust you more than anything and anyone else in the entire world. If I transformed, I would have ruined everything you and I worked for. I couldn’t let that happen._  
_Sometimes it shocks me, you know. How we can look at each other and understand what the other is thinking without even saying a word. Half the time you just yelled my name and I knew what to do._  
_Orange is for trust._  
_I trust you with my life. I’d trust you with my miraculous. I trust you with my heart, and I’m honoured, and so so so happy that you’d trust yours with me.”_

  
“Tikki, spots off.” Marinette said, staring down at his beautiful words.  
“How...how long did it take for him to write all this?” Marinette whispered.  
“He had been planning this for months.” Tikki said quietly. “He had holed himself up in his office at school, telling everyone he was grading papers when really, he was writing love letters to you.” She giggled. “Plagg told me he had never seen so much crumpled paper in his entire life.”  
“Tikki....I wonder if, with all the effort he is putting into this – I wonder if he has a much more different motive than just showering me with love. Is he planning something else?”

  
Tikki seemed to struggle with her words. “Uh...you’ll find out! Only one more stop to go!”  
Marinette narrowed her eyes. “I can’t bribe you, can I?”  
“Marinette, believe me. I will be completely worth it when you do find out.”  
“Okay...” She sighed. “Where’s the last clue?”  
“It’s the other place where you two had a lot of memories together.”  
“The sewers-“  
“NOT the sewers.” Tikki interrupted hotly as Marinette laughed.  
“Only teasing. It’s the Eiffel tower, isn’t it?”  
“Yep. What are you waiting for?”  
“Tikki, spots on!”  
\-------------  
Ladybug was at the top of Trocedaro Square, pausing for a while to catch her breath.  
If he was waiting there for her, she was going to give him the kiss of a lifetime. It warmed her insides how he put so much effort into whatever he did, whether it was his career as a teacher, or as a hero, or her.  
Once he was in, he was all in.  
Her yo-yo rang just as she reared up to lasso it. She looked at it to realise she was speaking of the devil.  
Metaphorically.

  
“Hello there, Ladybug.” Adrien’s teasing voice was like music to her ears, especially since she hadn’t heard it for the past two weeks. “You aren’t at the Eiffel Tower yet, are you?”  
“You know, you should really be more discreet.” She said playfully, though a little bit of softness seeped through. “How do you know I hadn’t guessed correctly and was headed to the wrong place?”  
“I never intended for you to lose, Bugaboo.” He said, clearly affronted. “The whole point of my little game is for you to find me.”  
“Then why all the clues?”  
“Eh, I just like messing around. Especially with you.”

  
“Oh stop.” Ladybug scoffed and he laughed. “One sec, I’ll call you back.”  
She dropped down into a side alley, detransformed and quickly made her way to the main street as she called him again. “So,” she asked as he picked up again. “Why are you calling me so early? I haven’t even reached the tower yet.”

  
“Is it really early though?” Adrien said, in that offbeat voice he always used when he was stalling. “It’s 11 AM in the morning.”

  
“Stop stalling, Adrien.” Marinette said, placing a hand on her hip. “And why is there an echo?”

  
Suddenly, there was a long beep, indicating that he had hung up.

  
“Because, my dear Bugaboo.” She froze when she heard his voice. His real voice, not over a screen. “The Eiffel Tower was never the actual place.”  
She spun around to see him, dressed casually in a white button down and black pants.

  
“It was only a ruse to bring you here to see me.” He chuckled as he opened his arms wide.

  
“You- you-“ Marinette tried to respond with a witty comment, but she was truly at a loss for words. She instead made up for her garbled noises by throwing her arms around him in a fierce hug.

  
“Oof.” Adrien laughed as he squeezed her tighter. “Somebody’s happy to see me.”

  
“Of course I am, you dumb cat.” She laughed into his shoulder. “You send me around Paris, to find those beautiful flowers and those even more beautifuller letters, and now I finally see you on the day I never thought I could get to be with you, how can I not be happy?”

  
“I don’t think beautifuller is a word.” He whispered in her ear.

  
“Who made you in charge of words?” She pulled away and before he could respond, she pulled his collar down and kissed him soundly.

  
When she moved away, his lips were still blindly reaching for her. She giggled as she let him kiss her again a few more times.

  
“So, I was thinking.” He said, his hands still around her waist. “How about some ice cream?”  
\--------------------------  
Andre was more than happy to see them, like he was with every customer that crossed his path. He gave them a combination of their flavours together, strawberry with black chocolate chip like Marinette’s suit, and mint like Adrien’s eyes. For extra flair, he sprinkled praline bits on the top of it.

  
“Not saying that anything is better than my Camembert,” Plagg said as he blatantly ate the scoop of ice cream Marinette was trying to feed Adrien. “but this ice cream thing is good. I mean, it’s cream, but it’s flavoured, and it’s cold.”

  
Marinette and Tikki laughed as Adrien said, “Does this mean we have to stock up on ice cream instead of cheese?”

  
“Don’t give him ideas, Adrien.” Tikki said from her perch on the bench they were sitting in. They had taken a walk together, and their feet had led them to the Pont des Arts, where they promptly plopped down on the nearest bench they could find, finishing up the rest of their ice cream.

"Are you seriously considering giving up my cheese??" Plagg said, outraged. "After all I've done for you!" 

"Well, I am very grateful, but Ice Cream doesn't smell." Adrien pointed out, scratching his kwami's chin. 

"Hmph. You all are lame." Plagg said, even as he accepted Adrien's scratches. 

"What should we do now?" Marinette asked, getting up and pulling Adrien to his feet as well. 

"I don't know..." Adrien said, thinking. "The day is still young, and so are we." 

"I gotta ask though," Marinette said, still holding on to the green, pink, and orange roses in her hand. "Are there only three roses, or is there more?" 

"Why do you think that?" Adrien slung an arm loosely around her shoulder. 

"Well," Marinette said, fiddling with the belt of her sundress as she noticed the kwamis making themselves discreet. "Three seems like an odd number. No pun intended." 

"Huh." Adrien said, like he was realising this only now. 

"I really really appreciate you going the extra mile to set this all up for me." She kissed his cheek. "I loved it. Every second of it. Every single word in your letters. The minute we get home, I'm framing it in my studio." 

Adrien's smile softened considerably as he gazed at his girlfriend. 8 years of being together had absolutely no change in the effect she had on him. She was still as adorable as she was the day they met. Both times. 

"Hey." He said suddenly. "I nearly forgot. I gave my phone to you, didn't I? Is it still in your purse?" 

"Oh right." Marinette said, slinging her purse to his side, and opening it. 

Adrien waited with bated breath, hoping she would see that his phone wasn't the only thing he slipped inside her purse. 

"Here it is!" Marinette said, pulling it out. 

"Thanks." Why did that come out so awfully? 'Keep it together, Agreste, you're not being strangled.' he scolded himself. 

"Okay then, so -" Marinette paused, her skilled eye catching something else. 

"What's this?" She frowned, not even noticing that Adrien had moved his arm away from her shoulders. "I didn't put this in here." 

She pulled out the little black object, only for her jaw to drop. 

The little black object was a little black box. A little black ring sized box. 

"The fourth object isn't a rose." Adrien's voice sounded far away, her ears had strain so hard to hear him. 

"Is this....?" Marinette asked hesitantly, not daring to complete the sentence. 

Suddenly everything made sense. Her parents being so unnaturally happy, Tikki being so secretive and defensive-

Her suspicions were confirmed when he got down on one knee, his eyes never wavering from hers.

"Marinette, I tried putting what I had to say in letters, and with the other three sentiments, it worked perfectly." He took her hand, the one that was holding the box. "But for some reason, I could never get the last part of what I'm trying to say on paper. Everytime I tried, it seemed rushed, or inadequate, or sloppy. And you deserve better than a half assed proposal. You deserve the world. And I promise, I promise-" he emphasized that word unintentionally, when he realised that he was tearing up, and she was tearing up along with him. "I promise I'll do everything in my power to make you happy." 

"Adrien..." Was all Marinette could say, through her closed palm over her quivering lips. Lips that he had kissed a thousand times, and that would kiss as long as she would let him.

"14 year old me had no idea. He didn't know that sneaking out of his house to go to school would lead him to the best things that had happened to him. My miraculous, our friends, and...and you. I love you, I love you so much, I love that you stuck by me,I love that you love me even the times when I act like a jerk, I love that you literally drop everything around you if it means helping someone in need, I love that you are so passionate about what you do, I love the way your nose crinkles everytime you are thinking up some complicated plan," he said, and she laughed, despite herself. "I love the way you stick your tongue out when you are knee deep in designing, I love how angry you get when things are unfair, I love bodily dragging you out of bed every morning, and I love how brave you are, I love how you inspire me to be better than I am everyday. So," he said, sighing in resignation. It was now or never. 

"Marinette Dupain Cheng, will you make this poor alley cat happy by marrying him?" He said, waiting for her response with bated breath. 

"I don't know." She said, breathlessly. "Can the poor alley cat get up for a second?" 

Adrien was taken aback, but he complied nervously. 

His fears were unfounded, because she only used the opportunity to grab his face and kiss him, more passionately than she ever did. 

He was so shocked, he didn't even think to hold her. "Yes." She said against his lips, as she moved to look at him. "Yes, I'll marry you." 

The life returned to his muscles as he pulled her back to him to kiss her, a happy, relieved, confused one, but one full of love all the same. 

She said yes. 

She actually said yes. 

He picked her up by the waist and spun her around, his lips never leaving hers, and the echo of her laughter in his ears. 

"You said yes." He said, happier than he had ever been. 

"You always sound so surprised when you say that." Marinette laughed and cried, and he took the lead, kissing her tears away, while she wiped away his own. 

Remembering that he still had to put a ring on it, he took the box and opened it, revealing a red princess cut diamond, encased in a simple band. 

"I must have looked at over a thousand designs." He said, his heart beating out of his chest. "Then I settled on this one. It was simple, but I had a feeling you'd like it. You never needed much to be happy." 

"You're wrong there." Marinette said, and his head snapped up to look at hers. "I don't like it, I love it. And all I ever wanted to be happy was you, and you are definitely more than 'much'." She said, flailing her arms around her a bit, in that endearing way that was so Marinette. 

"You are amazing, you know that, fiancée?" Adrien said, slipping the ring into her left ring finger. It was a perfect fit. 

"You aren't so bad yourself, fiance." She murmured as he raised his lips to kiss her hand, and then kiss her again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAAANNNDDDD THATS A WRAP  
> Thank you everyone who read, left kudos and commented regularly!! Writing this has been absolutely amazing, if not a little exhausting. Hehe.  
> Thank you so so much. You all are amazing ❤️.


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